Does the Polystomatic Gland Exist?

Abstract

According to the P. N. A., the N. A. J. and some scholars, the sublingual gland has the ductus sublingualis major and ductus sublinguales minores. This means that the gland is a polystomatic gland. We intended to determine whether the so-called polystomatic gland exists or not. 1. According to the P. N. A., the N. A. J. and some scholars, the gl. sublingualis has the ductus sublingualis major and ductus sublinguales minores. This means the gland is a polystomatic gland. However, the formation of one gland with plural excretory ducts is embryologically impossible, in other words, the polystomatic gland does not exist. 2. Many scholars described that the gl. sublingualis was composed of the gl. sublingualis major and gll. sublinguales minores. However, they are completely different kinds of glands. Accordingly, we suggest the terms for these glands: the gl. sublingualis and its ductus sublingualis ("major"is useless), the gll. sublinguales minores and their ductus sublinguales minores. 3. The N. A. V. J. and some scholars use the term gl. sublingualis polystomatica or parvicanalaris. However, this is a group of a number of independent glands each of which has its own excretory duct. Such a gland should not be regarded as a single gland. We suggest that the term gll. sublinguales minores and their excretory ducts should be replaced with the term the ductus sublinguales minores. 4. The gl. lingualis anterior, gl. retromolaris and gl. lacrimalis are not single glands but a group of several independent glands each of which has its own excretory duct. Accordingly, they should be termed the gll. linguales anteriores, gll. retromolares and gll. lacrimales such as the gll. labiales, gll. buccales and gll. palatinae.