Tongue Diagram – Papillae, Taste Buds and Tonsils Labeled

All 9 parts on the diagram

Show the list

The tongue and throat 8

Tip Also called the apex.
Filiform papillae The most common papillae; they grip food and have no taste buds.
Fungiform papillae Mushroom-shaped; they carry taste buds.
Vallate papillae Each sits in a trench whose walls are lined with taste buds.
Foliate papillae Leaf-like folds on the sides that also hold taste buds.
Lingual tonsil Lymphoid tissue at the back of the tongue, behind the V.
Palatine tonsil Commonly just called the tonsils.
Epiglottis It folds over the airway when you swallow.

Taste buds up close 1

Taste buds Their receptor cells respond to chemicals dissolved in saliva.

How this list was compiled: Every name and detail checked on 2026-09-29 against OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 23.3 The Mouth, Pharynx, and Esophagus (the tongue, lingual and palatine tonsils, epiglottis) and section 14.1 Sensory Perception (filiform, fungiform, vallate or circumvallate and foliate papillae; taste buds), https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/, and against Wikipedia, text only: Tongue (including the tongue-map misconception: every taste is sensed across the tongue) and Lingual papillae. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-29 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The top drawing is the tongue from above, tip at the bottom and throat at the top, with its four kinds of papillae. The bottom one cuts through one of the big vallate papillae to show the taste buds in its walls.

Read the full guide

Front to back, then up close

Numbers 1 to 3 are the front: the tip, the fine filiform papillae and the round fungiform papillae. Numbers 4 and 5 are the vallate papillae in a V and the foliate ridges on the sides. Numbers 6 to 8 are behind: the lingual tonsil, the palatine tonsils and the epiglottis. Number 9 is the taste buds.

There is no taste map: every taste is sensed all over the tongue, not in separate zones.

Questions and answers

What are the bumps on the tongue called?

Papillae. The fine filiform papillae cover the front and help grip food; the round fungiform papillae, the large vallate papillae at the back and the foliate ridges on the sides carry the taste buds.

Where are the taste buds?

In the fungiform, vallate and foliate papillae. On a vallate papilla they line the walls of the trench around it. The filiform papillae have none.

Is there a tongue map for different tastes?

No. The idea that sweet, salty, sour and bitter each have their own zone is a common misconception; all tastes are sensed across the tongue, though some areas are a little more sensitive.