ABSTRACT
These are the first detailed and enthusiastic words on papillae and their “membranes” in human tongues by Lorenzo Bellini (1665) (Fig. 1), who knew that Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694) had reported on lingual papillae the year before. Malpighi discovered mucosal elevations associated with nerve fibers, naming these elevations “papillae,” as the morphological substrates for gustatory sensation (Fig. 2).
