Abstract
In order to obtain a better understanding of the essential nature of the cellular component in the saliva, reactions of glycogen, iodine, peroxidase, Dopa oxidase and of iron as well as staining of the plasma membrane were tested on the saliva smears derived from 114 human subjects aged from 6 to 56 years. It was made clear through the present study that the glycogen-, peroxidase-, Dopa oxidase-reactions of the. salivary corpuscles generally became weaker with increase of the degeneration in the saliva, and that, to our surprise, a very small fraction of the salivary corpuscles indicated a more intense glyc ogen reaction than normal neutrophil leucocytes in the peripheral blood, furthermore that the nuclei of the salivary corpuscles were occasio nally Dopa and iodine reactions positive, which was never seen in the leucocytes of the peripheral blood. Most of the salivary corpuscles are thought to be the neutrophil leucocytes which stain in considerably different degrees from those of the peripheral blood. The peroxidase and Dopa reactions of the oral epithelial cells were negative, while glycogen, and iodine reactions of them were positive, in addition to this, the plasma membrane of them was stained very distinctly as compared with that of the salivary corpuscles.
