Cat's tongue, Filliform Papillae
The filiform papillae on the dorsum (top) surface of the tongue are a bit like hair in that they keep growing throughout your life. The image above is actually an electron micrograph of a cat's tongue. Most people are familiar with the way a cat's tongue feels when they are licked by one. This EM shows why they feel so scratchy. Human filiform papillae are flatter and tend to lie down like the ones beside the larger fungiform papilla in the micrograph below.
In
healthy people, the individual hairs are shed before they get too long,
and the natural red color of the underlying tongue tissue shows through
giving the velvet a pink appearance. In some disease conditions
(mostly fever causing diseases), the hair does not shed easily and forms
a white, or sometimes even a black "coat" on the dorsal surface
of the tongue. The filiform papillae are naturally white, but
are often stained brown or black by foods or by dry mouth. When
the filiform papillae grow too long, they remain on the dorsum of the
tongue like a thick mat. This condition is known as "white
hairy tongue" or "black hairy tongue"
(see images below). A white or black coating on the tongue
is NOT necessarily associated with
any
particular disease condition. This overgrowth of "hair"
is easily removed by scraping the surface of the tongue with a
tongue scraper.
The filiform papillae are not associated with the sense of taste. White
and black hairy tongue are not contagious conditions. Click on
either image below to see larger versions. The filiform papillae,
especially on the back of the tongue, are heavily implicated in the
production of bad mouth odors. See my page on
halitosis for more on that subject.
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