Definition of "papilla" [pa•pil•la]

• A small nipplelike projection, such as a protuberance on the skin, at the root of a hair or feather, or at the base of a developing tooth. (noun)
• One of the small, round or cone-shaped protuberances on the top of the tongue that contain taste buds. (noun)
• A pimple or pustule. (noun)
• Botany A minute projection on the surface of a stigma, petal, or leaf. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Each papilla consists of a projection of mucous membrane from 1 to 2 mm. wide, attached to the bottom of a circular depression of the mucous membrane; the margin of the depression is elevated to form a wall (vallum), and between this and the papilla is a circular sulcus termed the fossa."
• "It is more common to meet with a condition in which the patient complains of severe burning or aching pain in the region of the foliate papilla, which is situated on the edge of the tongue just in front of the anterior pillar of the fauces."
• "Three Random Words: la panosse (f) = floorcloth = passer la panosse = to mop the floor le monticule (m) = hillock, mound; heap la papille (f) = papilla = les papilles gustatives = taste buds"