X. Minute structure of the papillœ and nerves of the tongue of the frog and toad

Abstract

The attention of physiologists was first directed by me to the peculiar advantages possessed by the tongue of the living frog and other similar animals for microscopic investigation, in the year 1839. The extreme elasticity and transparency of this organ induced me to submit it to the microscope, principally with a view of examining the muscles daring contraction. I communicated these experiments to M. Donne, who has mentioned my claim of priority in his Cours de Microscopie, p. 108, and they were first made public at the Société Philomatique, Aug. 17, 1839. It will be unnecessary in a communication addressed to the Royal Society, to occupy the time of that learned body by recapitulating what is already known respecting the organ of taste. I shall therefore proceed at once to describe the results of my further researches on this organ, by which I have been enabled to determine the peculiar structure of the papillæ, and the ultimate termination of the nerves within them. In conclusion, I will point out the deductions which necessarily ensue with regard to the distinct nature of the functions of these organs in the act of taste.