When people lose their sense of smell, they often complain of a loss of taste but what they really mean is that they have lost that combination of smell and taste, or flavor. Depending on the path the smell takes, it can have a different effect.
While eating, the smell of food is detected through both the front of the nose and the back of the throat. Flavor is a multisensory experience that combines both the smell and taste of foods and drinks. It is important to recognize the difference between taste and flavor. Humans can detect five different tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and savory, or umami. There are even some taste receptors in the nose, but doctors are still figuring out exactly what role they play. What some people consider a “taste,” such as “hot and spicy” or “chemical,” may be detected through pain and other receptors working through a completely different nerve, cranial nerve V, called the trigeminal nerve. The front of the tongue is innervated, or supplied, by cranial nerve VII, called the facial nerve, through the chorda tympani the back part of the tongue is innervated by cranial nerve IX, called the glossopharyngeal nerve and the palate and throat are innervated by cranial nerve X, called the vagus nerve.Ĭompletely losing taste due to injury of a nerve is rare since several nerves are involved. Three different nerves contribute to the sensation of taste depending on where in the mouth the taste receptors are located.
The tongue and throat have many taste receptors. Phantogeusia, which refers to tasting something that is not actually there, or hallucinating a particular taste.Aliageusia, when a typically pleasant-tasting food or drink begins to taste unpleasant.Ageusia, which is a complete loss of taste.Hypogeusia, which is a reduced or diminished sense of taste.Impaired taste can take many forms, including: A study performed on adults in the United States indicated that up to 17 percent of those tested had some impairment in taste.
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