Ageusia (pronounced ay-GOO-see-uh) is the loss of
taste functions of the
tongue, particularly the inability to detect sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and umami (the taste of
monosodium glutamate). It is sometimes confused for
anosmia - a loss of the
sense of
smell. Because the tongue can only indicate texture and differentiate between sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami most of what is perceived as the sense of taste is actually derived from smell. True aguesia is relatively rare compared to the milder forms of taste loss:
hypogeusia and
dysgeusia. Hypogeusia represents a partial loss of taste whereas dysgeusia denotes a distortion or alteration of taste.
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