Salivary Glands: Anatomy, Functions in Digestion & Role in Disease

The salivary glands are well-known digestive organs with a highly branched duct system and a compound acinar gland. There are 3 pairs of major salivary glands and 6001000 minor salivary glands in humans. This book discusses the anatomy, functions in digestion and role in disease of salivary glands. Topics include salivary gland structure and regulation of saliva secretion in health and disease; complications of parotid gland surgery; organogenesis and morphogenesis; anatomic and histological features of the salivary glands; regeneration and stem cell therapy; the role of transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 1 in the saliva secretion of the submandibular gland; substances in saliva; fluid secretion and channel/transporter proteins; and replacing tears with saliva in severe dry eye syndrome.