During the degeneration process, the surrounding epithelium filled the space formerly occupied by the taste buds. Finally, the FP degenerated with atrophy.19 Thereafter, regenerated FP in rats were first detected at 8 weeks after severing the chorda-lingual nerve. The process of regeneration first started with the formation of a dome-like papilla, and then the taste pore was formed at the center of the dome-like papilla.20 In general, regeneration begins with the penetration of new CTN fibers into the basal layers of the epithelium regions formally occupied by taste buds. The first altered cells resemble the basal cells of normal buds, but all of the 3 main cell types (type I, II, and III cells) apparently arose at the same time. Once regeneration has begun in a given part of the epithelium, it proceeds rapidly to replacement of the normal pattern of the taste buds.19 From our recent study using transmission electron microscopy, it was clarified that taste buds containing taste cells and nerve endings have regenerated in the FP of patients with a recovered taste function after severing the CTN