SALIVARY GLANDS Flashcards
Major salivary glands include:
- Parotid gland
- Submandibular gland
- Sublingual gland
Minor salivary glands include:
•Small accessory salivary glands scattered over the
palate, lips, cheeks, tonsils, and tongue
Saliva is secreted from the glands and functions in
the following manner
•Keeps moist the mucous membrane of the mouth
•Lubricates food during mastication
•Begins the digestion of starches
•Serves as an intrinsic mouth wash
•Plays significant roles in the prevention of tooth
decay
parotid gland
•Largest of three paired salivary glands
•Enclosed within a tough unyielding fascial capsule, the parotid sheath derived from the investing
a layer of the deep cervical fascia
parotid gland is •It is irregular in shape because the area occupied by the gland, the parotid bed is
s anteroinferior to
the external acoustic meatus, where it is wedged between the ramus of the mandible and the
mastoid process
•Fatty tissue between the lobules of the gland confers the flexibility
the gland must have to
accommodate the motion of the mandible
•The apex of the parotid gland is posterior to
r to the angle of the mandible and its base is related to the
zygomatic arch
•The subcutaneous lateral surface of the parotid gland
is almost flat
•Embedded within the substance of the parotid gland from superficial to deep:
- Parotid plexus of the facial nerve and its branches
- The retromandibular vein
- External carotid artery
- Parotid lymph nodes which are also present on the parotid sheath
the parotid duct
•Passes horizontally from the anterior edge of the gland
•At the anterior border of the masseter, the duct turns medially, pierces the buccinator muscle and
enters the oral cavity through a small orifice opposite the second maxillary molar or teeth 17/27
•The auriculotemporal nerve and the great auricular nerve, a branch of the cervical
plexus composed of fibers from C2 and C3 spinal nerves innervates the
e parotid
a sheath as well as the overlying skin
The auriculotemporal nerve a branch of CNV3 is closely related to the
parotid gland
and passes posterior to it with the superficial temporal vessels
•Stimulation of the parasympathetic fibers produce
a thin watery saliva
•The vasomotor activity of these fibers may reduce secretion from
parotid gland
sensory
fibers pass to the gland through the great auricular and auriculotemporal nerves
submandibular gland
•Lies along the body of the mandible, partly superior and partly inferior to the posterior
half of the mandible
•It is also partly superficial and partly deep to the mylohyoid muscle
The submandibular duct approximately 5 cm in length arises from the portion of the
gland that lies between
n the mylohyoid and the hyoglossus muscles
•The orifices of the submandibular ducts are visible and
saliva can often be seen
trickling from them
•The arterial supply of the submandibular gland is from the
submental arteries and the veins accompany
the arteries
•Lymphatic vessels of the glands end in the deep
p cervical lymph nodes, particularly the
jugulo-omohyoid node
•Submandibular glands are supplied by presynaptic parasympathetic secretomotor fibers
conveyed from the facial nerve to the lingual nerve
via the chorda tympani nerve, which
synapse with postsynaptic neurons in the submandibular ganglion•The latter fibers accompany arteries to reach the gland, along with vasoconstrictive
postsynaptic sympathetic fibers from the deep cervical ganglion
sublingual gland
•Are the smallest and most deeply situated salivary glands
•Each almond shaped gland lies in the floor of the mouth between
n the mandible and the genioglossus
muscle
•The glands from each side unite to form a
a horse-shoe shaped mass around the connective tissue core of
the lingual frenulum
•Numerous small sublingual ducts open in the
e floor of the mouth along the sublingual folds
•The arterial supply of the sublingual glands is from the
sublingual and submental arteries, branches of
the facial and lingual arteries respectively
•The nerves of the glands accompany those of the
submandibular gland
•Presynaptic parasympathetic secretomotor fiber are conveyed by the facial nerve (chorda tympani) and
the lingual nerves to synapse in the submandibular ganglion
