salivary flow and constituents

Question 1

which glands are serous and which mucous

Answer 1

Parotid: 99% serous
Submandibular: 80% serous, 20% mucous aka MIXED
Sublingual: mucous.
Minor: MUCOUS except for serous glands of VON EBNER

Question 2

what is the volume of saliva we produce per min at rest? what gland predominates?

Answer 2

0.3-0.5ml. SUBMANDIBULAR

Question 3

what is the volume of saliva we produce per min when stimulated? what gland predominates?

Answer 3

2-4ml. PAROTID.

Question 4

what substance is the biggest stimulant of salivary flow?

Answer 4

ACID (sour stuff)

Question 5

is the masticatory salivary reflex ipsilateral or bilateral

Answer 5

predominantly IPSILATERAL (the side we are chewing on the gland has increased saliva flow)

Question 6

what are the 2 main types of salivary flow reflexes?

Answer 6

1. gustatory salivary reflex (particularly acid/ sour)
2. masticatory salivary reflex (MECHANORECEPTION, IPSILATERAL)

Question 7

What causes the masticatory salivary reflex

Answer 7

detection of mastication via MECHANORECEPTORS in PDL, mucosa, joints, muscle

Question 8

does olfactory- salivary reflex exist in humans?

Answer 8

Likely NOT olfactory-parotid reflex.
LIKELY submandibular-olfactory reflex.

Question 9

which glands are mainly responsible for producing SEROUS saliva?

Answer 9

parotid and submandibular

Question 10

which glands are mainly responsible for producing MUCOUS saliva?

Answer 10

sublingual and minor glands (except for von ebner)

Question 11

what is WHOLE SALIVA

Answer 11

the mix of serous and mucous

Question 12

What are the 7 factors that affect salivary flow rate?

Answer 12

Increase:
- presence of food in mouth (gustatory and masticatory reflex)
- smell of food (submandibular)
- age (up until 15 flow is increasing as gland size is increasing).

Decrease:
- drugs
- night time
- dehydration
__________________________________________________________
- size of gland

Question 13

What is a quantitative way to diagnose someone with xerostomia

Answer 13

unstimulated salivary flow is less than 50% of normal.

Question 14

what are 3 types of medications that can cause dry mouth

Answer 14

anti-histamines, analgesics, beta blockers

Question 15

why is bicarbonate important?

Answer 15

important BUFFER, neutralizes acids.

Question 16

what gives saliva its buffering capacity?

Answer 16

mainly BICARBONATE. also have some protein buffers and phosphate buffers.

Question 17

what is saliva supersaturated with?

Answer 17

calcium and phosphate. good because they reduce demineralization and promote remineralization YET can cause calculus formation

Question 18

what are two enzymes present in saliva?

Answer 18

1. salivary amylase –> inactivated by gastric pH, potential role for dry foods, may be important for BREAKING DOWN SUGARS BETWEEN THE TEETH.
2. salivary lipase –> from lingual serous salivary gland of Von ebner, role in cleaning tastebuds or digesting milk in infants,

Question 19

what is the importance of mucins (4 roles)? what is another name for them?

Answer 19

Lubricate, provide barrier, prevent drying, form part of pellicle. also called mucous glycoproteins.

Question 20

what is the function of statherins in saliva?

Answer 20

prevent precipitation of calcium and phosphate –> prevent calculus on teeth and mineralization in salivary glands.

Question 21

what is the antimicrobial function of saliva?

Answer 21

it is NON SPECIFIC (non immunoglobulin)

• Water: cleansing
• Mucins: aggregation of bacteria
• Amylase: interferes with bacterial adherence
• Lysozyme: hydrolyses some bacterial cell walls
• Peroxidase/thiocyanate: poisons bacteria
• Lactoferrin: deprives bacteria of iron
• Histatins: antifungal and antibacterial
• Cystatins: inhibit tissue-damaging bacterial enzyme, antibacterial, antiviral