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Morphological study of the fetal parotid duct and buccinator muscle and the relationship to salivary secretion
Author(s) -
Amano Kaori,
Moriyama Hiroshi,
Shimada Kazuyuki,
Matsumura George
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
clinical anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1098-2353
pISSN - 0897-3806
DOI - 10.1002/ca.20986
Subject(s) - parotid duct , medicine , masseter muscle , parotid gland , anatomy , saliva , duct (anatomy) , sphincter , pathology
The parotid glands secrete about 25% of all saliva produced. In the presence of a stimulus, the amount of saliva secreted from the parotid gland increases to 50%. A decrease in the amount of produced saliva due to aging and parotiditis results in a dry mouth. Therefore, the parotid duct is important to maintaining a healthy oral cavity. In human adults, the parotid duct, ∼6–8‐cm long, travels over the masseter muscle and penetrates the buccinator muscle to enter the oral cavity. Although there have been various studies regarding the parotid gland, only few suggest a functional role of the parotid duct, especially its area of penetration of the buccinator muscle. In this study, 34 fetal specimens ranging from 4 to 10 months of age at death were dissected for anatomical and histological examinations. The area of the parotid duct penetrating the buccinator muscle was fully formed in 5‐month‐old fetuses. This study found buccinator muscle fibers invading the parotid duct wall near its opening in 6‐month‐old fetuses and older. Our results support the claim that the buccinator muscle may act as a sphincter, playing a role in regulating and possibly preventing the reflux of salivary secretions into the parotid duct. Clin. Anat. 23:642–648, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.