Anatomy and Histology of Rodent and Human Major Salivary Glands—Overview of the Japan Salivary Gland Society-Sponsored Workshop—

TLDR

The major salivary glands in humans and rodents—parotid, submandibular, and sublingual—secrete serous, mucous, or mixed saliva through excretory ducts, and recent studies have uncovered endocrine roles and growth factor production in addition to their classic exocrine functions. This review seeks to detail macroscopic characteristics of rodent major salivary glands and the microscopic differences between rodent and human glands. The authors conduct a comparative review of anatomical and histological data from rodent and human salivary glands.

Abstract

Major salivary glands of both humans and rodents consist of three pairs of macroscopic glands: parotid, submandibular, and sublingual. These glands secrete serous, mucous or mixed saliva via the proper main excretory ducts connecting the glandular bodies with the oral cavity. A series of discoveries about the salivary ducts in the 17th century by Niels Stensen (1638–1686), Thomas Wharton (1614–1673), and Caspar Bartholin (1655–1738) established the concept of exocrine secretion as well as salivary glands. Recent investigations have revealed the endocrine functions of parotin and a variety of cell growth factors produced by salivary glands. The present review aims to describe macroscopic findings on the major salivary glands of rodents and the microscopic differences between those of humans and rodents, which review should be of interest to those researchers studying salivary glands.