Get To Know About Salivary Glands

Salivary glands are exocrine glands that release saliva into the mouth. They are located in the head, in and around the oral cavity. Their job is to keep the mouth mucosa lubricated and protected. They also aid in the earliest phases of digestion during food mastication, allowing a meal bolus to be formed and ingested for further processing. They aid digestion by excreting enzymes in the form of saliva, primarily amylase, which aids in the digestion of carbohydrates. The glands are characterized not only by their size but also by the type of saliva they exude.

Functions of Salivary glands

Saliva

Saliva is a seromucous liquid that serves a variety of activities in the mouth, including lubrication, digesting, antibacterial action, buffering, hormone regulation, and taste sensitivity. Electrolytes, mucus, glycoproteins, enzymes, and antimicrobial chemicals make up the remaining 99.5 per cent of the mixture. Serous and mucous saliva are the two main forms of saliva released by the salivary glands. Both types are secreted by the submandibular gland in a 3:2 ratio of serous to mucous. The only gland that secretes entirely serous saliva is the parotid gland, while the sublingual gland and minor salivary glands mostly excrete mucus saliva. Secretion of saliva is the major function of the Salivary glands

Major Salivary Glands

Parotid Glands

• Each person is born with a pair of parotid glands on each side of the face, located in the preauricular area (flattened region anterior to the tragus). 
• It is the largest of the three primary salivary glands (the others are the submandibular and sublingual glands), weighing between 15 and 30 grams each. Each gland is irregular in shape, with a superficial and deep lobe and a tan-yellow colour. 
• The parotid gland has an inverted pyramid shape, even though it is classified as irregular. 
• The gland’s base is the highest point, while the blunted tip points downward. The anteromedial, posteromedial, and superficial surfaces are also present.
• The facial nerve divides the gland into superficial and deep lobes (CN VII). 
• After leaving the stylomastoid foramen, the nerve penetrates the posterior margin of the parotid gland. 
• CN VII divides into superior (or temporofacial) and inferior (cervicofacial) divisions within the gland’s content. 
• The deep lobe is the section of the gland that is medial to CN VII, whereas the superficial lobe is the part that is lateral to the nerve. 

Submandibular Salivary Glands

• The submandibular glands are a pair of glands located below the lower jaw on the floor of the mouth. 
• They are one of three pairs of saliva-producing glands. 
• When tiny stones clog the ducts that provide saliva to the mouth, the submandibular glands swell. This can sometimes result in an infection.
• The submandibular glands, which are about the size of a walnut, are the second biggest of the three primary salivary glands. 
• The parotid (biggest) and sublingual glands are the other two types of salivary glands. The submandibular glands are positioned beneath the mandible (lower jaw bone) and above the hyoid (tongue) bone in the submandibular triangle. 
• The mylohyoid muscle, a paired muscle that forms the mouth’s floor, divides the gland’s superficial and deep lobes.
• The Wharton’s duct, also known as the submandibular duct, is the gland’s excretory duct. 
• It is responsible for draining saliva from the glands located at the base of the tongue.

Sublingual Gland

• The sublingual glands are located beneath your tongue on the floor of your mouth. They’re the smallest of the three pairs of salivary glands, shaped like almonds.
• The sublingual glands generate mucus, a slick liquid that lubricates and protects organs and produce very little saliva (between 3% and 5% of total volume). 
• The sublingual glands create fluids that aid in the early stages of digestion and keep the inside of your mouth moist. 
• The sublingual glands are located behind your lower canine teeth, just inside the jawbone (mandible). 
• They’re also on each side of the genioglossus muscle, which allows you to move your tongue from side to side by sticking it out. The glands form a U-shape at the front of your mouth when they join each other.
• The lingual frenulum, a band of mucous membrane that connects the floor of your mouth to the middle of your tongue, is wrapped around the front of this U. 
• The sublingual and submental arteries give blood to the glands under the tongue. The chords tympani (secretomotor nerve fibres) and the lingual branch of the mandibular nerve provide nerve function to these glands (sensory fibres).

Minor Salivary glands

Hundreds of minor salivary glands (MiSGs) are found in the submucosa layer of the oral cavity. 

• MiSGs are a useful tissue source for identifying oral and non-oral illnesses, in addition to their role in oral cavity lubrication and immunological defence. 
• The benefit of MiSGs as a diagnostic tool stems from their relatively straightforward excisional operation on the one hand and their minimal impact on the salivary gland system’s normal secretory capabilities on the other. 

The review focuses on developmental, reactive, metabolic, inflammatory, and immunologic diseases, as well as Iatrogenic and other unknown causes.

Conclusion

In the mouth, salivary glands are found. Three pairs of big salivary glands exist. Parotid glands are located directly below and in front of each ear. The submandibular glands are located beneath the jaw. The sublingual glands are located beneath the tongue. Hundreds of tiny glands are also present. These glands produce saliva (spit) and release it into the mouth through ducts. Food is moistened by saliva, which aids chewing, swallowing, and digesting. Saliva includes antibodies that destroy pathogens. Thus it keeps the mouth clean and healthy. When the salivary glands are destroyed or don’t produce enough saliva, it can impact taste,