Pedro was having dinner at his favorite Chinese restaurant when he took a sip of scalding hot wonton soup and burned his tongue. As a result of this injury, Pedro is most likely to experience ____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Pedro is likely to experience temporary taste loss for all flavors as burning his tongue can damage the taste buds. However, taste buds can regenerate, so the loss of taste is only temporary. It is unlikely that Pedro will permanently lose his ability to taste all flavors as the injury is only to his tongue and not to his entire gustatory system. In addition, there is no reason to believe that Pedro will specifically lose his ability to taste salty or umami flavors as all taste buds are affected equally by burns.

Pedro Was Having Dinner at His Favorite Chinese Restaurant When