Sublingual gland
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At the time the article was created Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.
View Jeremy Jones's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had the following disclosures:
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These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosures- Sublingual glands
- Sublingual salivary gland
The sublingual glands are the smallest of the three paired major salivary glands that lie in the sublingual space on the floor of the mouth, anterior to the submandibular glands. They secrete predominantly mucous saliva that is drained by numerous ducts, collectively termed the minor sublingual ducts (of Rivinus). Occasionally, the anteriormost duct is enlarged, forming the major sublingual duct (of Bartholin) which opens together with the submandibular duct at the sublingual papilla.
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Gross anatomy
The sublingual glands are small, almond-shaped glands. They lie against the medial surface of the mandible at the sublingual fossa and are immediately lateral to the submandibular duct and lingual nerve.
The superior surface of the gland indents the mucosa of the floor of the mouth, creating the sublingual fold, which extends to the sublingual papilla at the base of the frenulum of the tongue.
It is the only major salivary gland that does not contain a capsule 5. The parotid and submandibular glands both have a fibrous capsule derived from the superficial (investing) layer of the deep cervical fascia 4.
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Arterial supply
sublingual artery (branch of the lingual artery)
submental artery (branch of the facial artery)
Venous drainage
sublingual vein (tributary of the lingual vein)
submental vein (tributary of the facial vein)
Innervation
Autonomic innervation is from the lingual nerve via the submandibular ganglion with parasympathetic fibers arising from the chorda tympani and sympathetic fibers from the superior cervical ganglion.
History and etymology
Bartholin duct is named after its discoverer, the Danish anatomist Caspar Bartholin the Younger (1655-1738) 3.
Related pathology
References
- 1. Keith L. Moore, Arthur F. Dalley, A. M. R. Agur. Clinically Oriented Anatomy. (2013) ISBN: 9781451119459 - Google Books
- 2. Last, R. J., McMinn, R. M. H.. Last's Anatomy, Regional and Applied. (1994) ISBN: 044304662X - Google Books
- 3. Hill R. The Contributions of the Bartholin Family to the Study and Practice of Clinical Anatomy. Clin Anat. 2007;20(2):113-5. doi:10.1002/ca.20355 - Pubmed
- 4. Richard Drake, A. Wayne Vogl, Adam W. M. Mitchell. Gray's Anatomy for Students E-Book. (2019) ISBN: 9780323611053 - Google Books
- 5. Grewal J, Bordoni B, Shah J, Ryan J. Anatomy, Head and Neck, Sublingual Gland. 2023. - Pubmed
Incoming Links
- Ranula
- Superior cervical ganglion
- Parasympathetic nervous system
- Chorda tympani
- Salivary gland trauma
- Salivary gland tumours
- Mandible
- Salivary glands
- Lingual vein
- Major salivary glands
- Inferior salivatory nucleus
- Sympathetic nervous system
- Duct of Rivinus
- Superior salivary nucleus
- Major salivary gland cancer (staging)
- Facial nerve
- Major sublingual ducts
- Submandibular ganglion
- Ducts of the salivary glands
- Langerhans cell histiocytosis (salivary gland manifestations)
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