The Salivary Glands Flashcards
What are the main 3 salivary glands?
Parotid gland
Submandibular gland
Sublingual gland
What does the parotid gland produce?
Serous saliva
The parotid gland lies within the parotid region. What are the boundaries of this region.
Superiorly- Zygomatic arch
Inferiorly- Inferior border of the mandible
Anteriorly- Masseter muscle
Posteriorly- External ear and sternocleidomastoid
How are the secretions of the parotid gland transported to the oral cavity?
via the Stensen duct
What is the journey of the Stensen duct?
Arises from the ant. surface of the gland, traversing masseter
Then pierces buccinators, moving medially
Opens out into the oral cavity near the 2nd upper molar
What nerve passes through the Parotid Gland?
The facial nerve which gives rise to 5 terminal branches within the gland
What artery passes through the Parotid Gland?
ECA- ascends through the parotid gland
What vein passes through the parotid gland?
Retromandibular vein (Formed within the parotid gland by the convergence of the superficial temporal and maxillary veins)
What is the arterial supply to the parotid gland?
Post. auricular artery
Superficial temporal arteries
(Both are branches of the ECA)
What is the venous drainage of the parotid gland?
Retromandibular vein (formed by the unification of the superficial temporal and maxillary veins)
What innervation controls the rate of saliva production?
Autonomic innervation
What is the sensory innervation of the parotid gland supplied by?
Auriculotemporal nerve (gland) Great auricular nerve (fascia)
What is the parasympathetic innervation to the parotid gland?
Glossopharyngeal nerve
What is the sympathetic innervation to the parotid gland?
Superior cervical ganglion (part of the paravertebral chain)
What does the submandibular gland produce?
Mixed serous and mucous secretions
The submandibular gland is located within the ant. part of the submandibular triangle. What are the boundaries of this triangle?
Superiorly- Inferior body of the mandible
Anteriorly- Anterior belly of the digastric muscle
Posteriorly- Posterior belly of the digastric muscle
What is the structure of the submandibular gland?
Pair of elongate, flattened hooks
2 sets of arms: superficial and deep
Which muscle do the arms of the submandibular gland hook around?
Mylohyoid muscle
Where is the superficial arm of the submandibular gland?
Outside the boundaries of the oral cavity
Lies partially inf. to the post. half of the mandible
Which arm makes up the greater portion of the submandibular gland?
Superficial arm
Where does the deep arm of the submandibular gland hook?
Hooks around the post. margin of the mylohyoid through the triangular aperture to enter the oral cavity proper.
Where is the deep arm of the submandibular gland?
Lies on the lateral surface of the hyoglossus, lateral to the root of the tongue
How are the secretions of the submandibular gland transported to the oral cavity?
via the submandibular duct (Wharton’s duct)
What is the journey of the submandibular duct?
Emerges anteriomedially from the deep arm of the gland between mylohyoid, hypoglossus and genioglossus muscles
Duct ascends on its course to open a small sublingual papilla (caruncle) at the base of the lingual frenulum bialterally
What are the 3 principal nerves the submandibular gland and duct are intimately related to?
Lingual Nerve
Hypoglossal Nerve
Marginal Mandibular branch of the facial nerve
What is the course of the lingual nerve?
Begins lateral to the submandibular duct
Courses anteromedially by looping beneath the duct and then terminating as several branches
The terminal branches ascend on the ext. and sup. surface of hypoglossus to provide GSA to the mucous membrane of the ant. 2/3rds of the tongue
What is the course of the Hypoglossal nerve?
Lies deep to the submandibular gland and runs superficial to hyoglossus and deep to digastric muscles
What is the course of the Marginal Mandibular branch of the facial nerve?
Exits the anterior-inferior portion of the parotid gland at the angle of the jaw
Transverses the margin of the mandible in the plane between platysma and the investing layer of deep cervical fascia curving down inf. to the submandibular gland
What is the arterial blood supply to the submandibular gland?
Submental arteries (arise from the facial artery which arises from the ECA)
What is the venous drainage of the submandibular gland?
Submental veins which drain into the facial vein and then the int. jugular veins
The submandibular glands receive autonomic innervation. What does this innervation do?
Regulates salivary secretions respectively
What does the parasympathetic pre-synaptic innervation of the submandibular gland originate from?
Superior salivatory nucleus
Travels via the chorda tympani branch of the facial nerve
The chorda tympani unifies with the lingual branch of the mandibular nevre
What does the parasympathetic post-synaptic innervation of the submandibular gland consist of?
Secretormotor fibres which directly induce the gland to produce secretions
Where does sympathetic innervation of the submandibular gland originate from?
Superior cervical ganglion
How does the post-synaptic vasoconstrictive fibres of the superior cervical ganglion travel?
They travel as a plexus on the ICA and ECA, facial artery and submental artery to enter each gland
