Gross and microscopic anatomy of the major salivary glands of the ferret

The gross and microscopic anatomy of the major salivary glands of the ferret was studied. There were 5 pairs of major salivary glands, parotid, submandibular, sublingual, molar and zygomatic. They were of compound tubuloacinar type and consisted of numerous lobes and lobules. The parotid gland was grossly similar to the parotids in other mammals but histologically it was seromucous as in the carnivores dog and cat. The parotid duct opened into the vestibule of the mouth opposite the upper third premolar tooth. The submandibular gland was single on each side, oval in shape and cervical in position. Histologically it was entirely mucous. The submandibular duct opened at a sublingual papilla in the oral cavity at the side of the frenulum of the tongue. The sublingual gland was the smallest of the major salivary glands. It was single on each side and lay deep to the digastric muscle. It opened by several small ductules into the submandibular duct. It was mainly mucous and did not contain intercalated and striated ducts. The molar gland was located superficially near the angle of the mouth. It was irregularly pyramidal and opened by several small ducts into the vestibule opposite the lower molar teeth. It was predominantly mucous. There were no intercalated or striated ducts. The zygomatic gland was present deep to the masseter and related to the orbit in the infratemporal fossa. The gland opened by several small ducts into the vestibule opposite the upper molar teeth. It was also predominantly mucous and there were no intercalated or striated ducts (AU)

Composition and biological properties of mucins, isolated from human submandibular glands

From a series of 17 different submandibular glands the mucins were isolated. Between 0.78 and 1.85 mg mucin was obtained per g of tissue. In correspondence with the literature the differences in sugar composition between substances with A-, B-, Le a- and Le b- blood group specificity were correlated with the serological specificities observed. Thus galactosamine, galactose and fucose were relatively the highest in the A-, B- and Le b- active substances, respectively. The influenza virus haemagglutination inhibition capacity for a number of human submandibular mucins was determined in comparison with the ovine, bovine and mouse sublingual mucins. The human submandibular mucins with the highest sialic acid content were the most active in inhibiting the haemagglutination. Independent of the serological specificity the same amino acid composition was found. However, a comparison with the results obtained by other workers revealed that the composition may partly depend on the method of isolation. On this basis it has been tentatively concluded that the salivary mucins contain at least two protein cores, one of which is very rich in serine and threonine, the other being preferentially removed by treatment with proteolytic enzymes or - s - s - bonds splitting agents.(AU)