SALIVARY GLANDS. 503 



gland. The facial artery either passes through it or is very 

 much connected with it. 



Its colour and appearance are the same with the parotid; 

 but its lobules are more easily separated, as they are held to- 

 gether only by weak cellular substance, which forms a sort of 

 capsule to them. Its duct, (Ductus Whartonianus,) which is 

 single, comes from the assembling and junction of branches 

 from the several lobes. It is much thinner, more extensible, 

 and larger in proportion than the parotid duct; and being di- 

 rected backwards, winds over the posterior edge of the mylo- 

 hyoid muscle, in order to get to the cavity of the mouth. It 

 then passes along the internal face of the sublingual gland, be- 

 low the tongue, and terminates by a small projecting orifice on 

 the anterior margin of the frsenum linguae. 



A continuation of the substance of this- gland, of a few lines 

 in thickness, described by Bartholin, is found at the posterior 

 end of the sublingual gland, and has its excretory duct some- 

 times opening at the side of the duct of Wharton, and, on other 

 occasions, into one of the ducts which issue from the sublin- 

 gual gland. When this common duct exists, it is called the 

 canal of Bartholin, (Ductus Bartholinianus,) who first discovered 

 it in the lion, in 1684. 



The Sublingual Gland (Glandula Sublingualis) is an oblong 

 body, covered by the lining membrane of the mouth, but visible 

 when the tongue is turned up. It is placed above the mylo- 

 hyoid muscle, along the under surface of the tongue, and is 

 readily distinguished by its ridged unequal surface, projecting 

 into the mouth. It is not so large as the submaxillary gland. 



Its lobules are smaller than those of the preceding gland, and 

 are also whiter and harder. Instead of having but one excreto- 

 ry duct, it has several; sometimes fifteen or twenty of them are 

 discernible: on other occasions, several of them are collected 

 into one or two principal trunks, (Ductus Riviniani,) and open 

 either directly into the mouth, or into the duct of Wharton. 

 These several openings are found along the bottom of the 

 mouth, on either side below the tongue. Several small saliva- 

 ry granulations or glands border on the sublingual. 



The position of the salivary glands is such, that they are 

 much moved and pressed upon by the neighbouring parts in 



