110 



SALlsr.lKY 



SALIVA 



of robust thought, of high and scornful intellect ; 

 a recluse, to be relieved of the torment of associ- 

 ation with inferior minds. A masterly and most 

 impressive orator, he yet neglects the art of per- 

 suasion ; and in speeches of which every word 

 seems to have been well weighed and carefully 

 chosen some startling)}- injudicious sentence almost 

 invariably breaks loose. His will is commonly 

 believed to be as firm and well-knit as his 

 speech. It must always be remembered that the 

 difficulties of his task as Foreign Secretary are 

 enormous, though they would probably be much 

 lighter had he gained what no minister of his 

 known intellectual capacity ever lacked so much 

 in this country popular liking. Lord Salisbury 

 was married in 1857 to Georgiana, daughter of Sir 

 Edward Alderson (a Baron of the Exchequer), and 

 has had issue live sons and three daughters. 



See F. S. Pulling, Life and Spetehe* of the Marquit of 

 Salitbury (2-vols. 1885) ; the abort Life by Traill (1891) ; 

 and the Life ami Timtt by Jeyes (4 vols. 1894-95). 



Saliva, one of the digestive fluids, mainly the 

 product of the SALIVARY GLANDS, of which there 

 are three pairs the parotid, the submaxillary, 

 and the snblingual, with efferent ducts which 

 convey the glandular secretions into the month. 

 These, when mixed with the mucus secreted by 

 the follicles of the mucous membrane lining the 

 mouth, constitute the ordinary or mixed saliva. 

 The Parotid Gland, so called from the Greek 



The Salivary Glands : 



1, the parotid gland ; 2, the aubmaxtllary gland ; 3, the aub- 

 lingual gland : 4. Steno's duct ; 6, Whartun'i duct : 6, Bar- 

 Uiiilin'H duct ; 7, uiaueter muscle ; 8, mastoid process ; 8 

 dlgaatrlc muscle ; 10, Internal jugular vein ; 11, external 

 carotid artery ; 12, the tongue. 



words para, ' near, ' and out, ' the ear, ' is the largest 

 of the three glands occurring on each side. It lies 

 upon the side of the face immediately in front of 

 the external ear, and weighs from half an ounce to 

 an ounce. Its duct is aliout two inches and a half 

 in_ length, and opens into the month by a small 

 orifice opposite the second molar tooth of the upper ' 

 jaw. The walls of the duct are dense and some- j 

 what thick, and the calibre is about that of a crow- 

 quill. 



The Submaxillary Gland is situated, as its name ' 

 implies, Mow the jawlione (]>urt of which is cut 

 away in the figure), and is placed at nearly equal 

 distances from the parotid and snblingual 'gland*. 

 Ita duct is alnmt two inches in length, and oj>ens by 

 a narrow orifice on the top of a papilla, at the si.lc 

 of the frirttiim of the tongue. The Siiblinaval Gland 

 is situated, as its name implies, under the tongue, 

 each gland forming a ridge on the floor of the ] 

 mouth, between the tongue and the lower gums. 



It has a number of excretory ducts, which open 



separately into the nth. Tfie salivary glands are 



ia. t-niose, or of the rciinpomicl acinous type (see 

 til. VXDS). The recesses which open into tne line 

 terminal branches of the ducts are 'lined and 



almost filled' by tl pithelial cells which secrete 



the saliva. True salivary glands exist in all 

 mammals, except the cetacea, in birds, and rep 

 tiles (including amphibians), but not in fishes; 

 and glands discharging a similar function occur 

 in insects, many molluscs, &c. Saliva contains 

 about one-half per cent of solids, chiefly suits 

 and mncin. The proportion of its active const it u- 

 ent, ptyalin, is extremely small ; and it has never 

 been satisfactorily isolated (see I>H.I:STION). 



The most common disease of the parotid gland is 

 a specific inflammation, which has been already 

 described in the article MUMPS. Tumours of 

 various kinds sometimes occur in front of the ear 

 and over the parotid gland. Their removal is often 

 difficult. Calculi are occasionally formed in con- 

 nection with the ducts of the 'salivary glands. 

 hijii-Htit Si'i-rrlion is indicated by clamminess or 

 dryness of the mouth, and is common in low forms 

 of fever. It is important as indicating the con- 

 dition of the system, and seldom requires IPMI- 

 iiit-iit. If it should occur as an original affection 

 it must l>e treated by local Sialogogues (q.v.), such 

 as liquorice, horse-radish, pelliton, iVe. Altera- 

 tion of the Saliva is not unfrequent in disease. 

 For example, it sometimes loses its alkaline char- 

 acter, and becomes acid, as in acute rheumatism, 

 diabetes, &c. ; whilst in other cases it Incomes so 

 firtid as to be a source of annoyance both to the 

 patient and his friends, as, for example, in scurvy, 

 various forms of dyspepsia, salivation, ivc. The 

 undue acidity may be corrected by the ail ministra- 

 tion of carbonate or bicarbonate of soda, while the 

 foetor may be relieved by attention to diet, bv 

 antiseptic mouth -washes, and by the use, both 

 local and general, of creasote, nitromuriatic acid, 

 charcoal, chlorate of potash, &c. Ordinary fnjlnm 

 motion of these glands (distinct from mumps) may 

 proceed from cold or local injury, but it IB often 

 produced by decayed teeth. 



SALIVATION, or PTYALISM (from the Gr. ptyalon, 

 'the saliva'), is the term employed to designate 

 an abnormally abundant flow of saliva. It most 

 commonly arises from a specific form of inflamma- 

 tion of the parotid glands, induced by the action 

 of mercury, in which case it is termed mercurial 

 salivation ; but it occasionally ap|>ears under the 

 action of other drugs, esjiccially iodide of potas- 

 sium ; and sometimes it occurs without any appar- 

 ent cause, in which case it is said to be taiofttiUe 

 or spontaneous. When mercury is given in such a 

 way as to excite salivation a metallic taste in the 

 mouth is soon recognised by the patient, and a 

 remarkable but indescribable smell, known as the 

 mercurial foetor, may lie detected in his breath ; the 

 gums become swollen and spongy at their edges, 

 and usually present a few slight ulcers ; and an in- 

 creased flow of saliva takes place, accompanied by 

 pain in the teeth on pressure. If these .symptoms 

 be not checked (and a fortiori if more mercury be 

 given) the tongue, cheeks, and throat swell and 

 ulcerate, ami the saliva that flows away amounts 

 to several pint- in the course of the day. Until a 



comparatively n lit period profuse salivation was 



deemed the only certain indication that the system 

 was duly under the influence of mercury (and, 

 indeed, it was believed that the cause of the disease 

 was carried out of the body with the saliva); but 

 it is now recognised that salivation is harmful, and 

 in administering mercury the object aimed at is 

 not to allow its effect at farthest to go beyond 

 the production of slight tenderness of the gum -. 

 and slight mercurial foetor. Mercurial salivation 



