Certain pesticides can have damaging effects on the taste buds and nerves in the mouth. These pesticides include organochloride compounds and carbamate pesticides. Damage to the peripheral nerves, along with injury to the chorda tympani branch of the facial nerve, also cause dysgeusia. A surgical risk for laryngoscopy and tonsillectomy include dysgeusia. Patients with the burning mouth syndrome, most likely menopausal women, often have dysgeusia as well. Normal function
The sense of taste is based on the detection of chemicals by specialized taste cells in the mouth. The mouth, throat, larynx, and esophagus all have taste buds, which are replaced every ten days. Each taste bud contains receptor cells. Afferent nerves make contact with the receptor cells at the base of the taste bud. A single taste bud is innervated by several afferent nerves, while a single efferent fiber innervates several taste buds. Fungiform papillae are present on the anterior portion of the tongue while circumvallate papillae and foliate papillae are found on the posterior portion of the tongue. The salivary glands are responsible for keeping the taste buds moist with saliva.A single taste bud is composed of four types of cells, and each taste bud has between 30 and 80 cells. Type I cells are thinly shaped, usually in the periphery of other cells. They also contain high amounts of chromatin. Type II cells have prominent nuclei and nucleoli with much less chromatin than Type I cells. Type III cells have multiple mitochondria and large vesicles. Type I, II, and III cells also contain synapses.
Neutrophilia (also called neutrophil leukocytosis or occasionally neutrocytosis) is leukocytosis of neutrophils, that is, a high number of neutrophils in the blood. Because neutrophils are the main type of granulocytes, mentions of granulocytosis often overlap in meaning with neutrophilia. The opposite of neutrophilia is neutropenia. Causes
Neutrophils are the primary white blood cells that respond to a bacterial infection, so the most common cause of neutrophilia is a bacterial infection, especially pyogenic infections.Neutrophils are also increased in any acute inflammation, so will be raised after a heart attack, other infarct or burns.Some drugs, such as prednisone, have the same effect as cortisol and adrenaline (epinephrine), causing marginated neutrophils to enter the blood stream.A neutrophilia might also be the result of a malignancy. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML or chronic myeloid leukaemia) is a disease where the blood cells proliferate out of control. These cells may be neutrophils. Neutrophilia can also be caused by appendicitis and splenectomy.Primary neutrophilia can additionally be a result of leukocyte adhesion deficiency. "Left shift"
A "left shift" refers to the presence of increased proportions of younger, less well differentiated neutrophils and neutrophil-precursor cells in the blood. This generally reflects early or premature release of myeloid cells from the bone marrow, the site where neutrophils are generated. A severe neutrophilia with left shift is referred to as a leukemoid reaction. The leukocyte alkaline phosphatase (LAP) score, which refers to the amount of alkaline phosphatase per neutrophil, will increase. In a severe infection, toxic granulation changes happen to the neutrophils.This can resemble Pelger-Huet anomaly.