gustatory organ

6.6

A small part on the tongue that senses taste, like a taste bud

noun
/ˈɡʌstəˌtɔri ˈɔrɡən/

Specialized

: órgano gustativo

The function of a gustatory organ is critical for detecting sweet, salty, sour, and bitter tastes.

Examples

Damage to a gustatory organ can result in a loss of sense of taste.
Scientists studied the gustatory organ to better understand how people perceive flavors.
The gustatory organ plays a crucial role in tasting food.
Many animals have multiple gustatory organs to enhance their sense of taste.
The function of a gustatory organ is critical for detecting sweet, salty, sour, and bitter tastes.
Scientists studied the gustatory organ to better understand how people perceive flavors.
Damage to a gustatory organ can result in a loss of sense of taste.

Synonyms

taste bud

vsgustatory organ

23 2.1

Small bumps on the tongue that sense sweet, sour, salty, and bitter

is a broader term for such tongue taste sensors

How Specialized

taste cell

Specialized

5.1

gustatory organ

Specialized

6.6

Surface Forms

gustatory organ singular

gustatory organs plural

Morphology

gustatory + organ

The meaning 'a sensory structure responsible for detecting taste' is directly and compositionally derived from 'gustatory' (related to tasting) + 'organ' (a body part performing a function). This is a transparent, technical noun phrase that follows a common cross-linguistic pattern (e.g., French 'organe gustatif'), so a learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Gustatory organ combines gustatory (meaning 'taste') and organ (a body part). It names parts like the small 'taste buds' on the tongue that detect sweet, salty, sour and bitter, so it simply means the body parts that let us taste.