THE SALIVARY GLANDS 



237 



matters it carries in solution are still more diluted by 

 the water of the saliva ; thirdly, that any starch it may 

 contain begins to be changed into sugar by the saliva, 

 whose formation and action we must next consider. 



5. The Salivary Glands. — The mucous membrane 

 which lines the mouth and the pharynx is beset with 

 minute glands, the buccal glands ; but the great glands 

 from which the cavity of the mouth receives its chief 



A dissection of the right side of the face, showing, a, the sublingual, 

 b, the submaxillary glands, with their ducts opening beside the tongue 

 in the floor of the mouth at d ; c, the parotid gland and its duct, which 

 opens on the side of the cheek at e. 



secretion are the three pairs which, as has been already 

 mentioned, are called parotid, submaxillary, sub- 

 lingual, and which secrete the principal part of the 

 saliva (Fig. 72). 



Each parotid gland is placed just in front of the ear, 

 and its duct passes forwards along the cheek, until it 

 opens in the interior of the mouth, opposite the second 

 upper grinding tooth. 



