Sialadens

Sialadens – glands relating to front department of a digestive tract. Thanks to the produced enzymes promoting formation of saliva, sialadens participate in process of digestion and are necessary for ensuring the normal state of an oral cavity of the person.

Structure of sialadens

Sialadens can be divided:

• By the size – on small and big;
• On character of the allocated secret – on proteinaceous, mucous and mixed.

Treat the small sialadens (mucous and mixed) located in a submucosal layer of area of lips, cheeks, the sky and language:

• Palatal;
• Buccal;
• Lip;
• Lingual;
• Molar.

Big sialadens are pair bodies and exert a great influence on digestion. Distinguish three types of big sialadens:

• The parotid sialaden located in a retromandibular pole which front department lies on a masseter. It the largest of all sialadens and its weight varies from 20 to 30 g. The parotid gland is covered with a dense parotid fascia and divided into segments by crossing points. In this gland there passes the outside carotid artery, a facial nerve with its main branches and large veins. Blood supply of a parotid gland happens through branches of a superficial temporal artery;
• The submaxillary sialaden with an output channel in front department of hypoglossal area located in a submaxillary triangle. Blood supply of submaxillary gland happens through branches of a facial artery;
• The hypoglossal sialaden with an output channel on hypoglossal meat and a hypoglossal fold located in hypoglossal space on a maxillary and hypoglossal muscle. Blood supply happens through branches of a lingual artery.

Functions of sialadens

It is possible to allocate several main functions of sialadens, namely:

• Secretion of gormonopodobny substances (endocrine);
• Development of mucous and proteinaceous components of saliva (exocrine);
• Removal of products of metabolism (excretory);
• Filtering of components of a blood plasma from capillaries of an oral cavity in composition of saliva (filtrational).

Enzymes for formation of saliva come to an oral cavity through channels of sialadens which open under language and at the level of upper big molars.

Saliva, carrying out initial chemical treatment of food and enveloping it mucin (special mucous substance), promotes formation of a food lump.

Salivary enzymes, such as maltase, peroxidase, amylase, oxidase, ptyalin and other proteic matters, continue to have effect on food and after it gets into a stomach.

The saliva formed by means of the enzymes produced by sialadens promotes:

• To chewing of food and articulation;
• To strengthening of tastes of products;
• To protection of teeth against thermal, mechanical and chemical damages.

Besides, saliva renders antibacterial protection (local immunity) of an oral cavity, and also protection of teeth against caries and demineralization.

Diseases of sialadens

The sialolithic disease most often occurs among diseases of sialadens.

At this disease stones (concrements, sialoliths) interfere with free current of saliva from channels of sialadens that leads to development of inflammatory process in gland fabrics. The main symptoms of a disease are:

• Swellings in a cheek and before an ear (a parotid sialaden) or under a jaw (submandibular gland) which increase at meal;
• Unpleasant smack in a mouth which causes suppuration through a channel of sialadens;
• The morbidity arising when pressing on the swelled up a little gland;
• Fervescence, fever, weakness and other general signs of inflammatory process (at an exacerbation of a disease).

Increasing in sizes, the stone completely blocks over time saliva current that promotes developing of an infection and demands carrying out operation.

Removal of a stone has risk of heavy complications in the form of injury of a lingual nerve and injuries of large vessels. In cases if the stone is located in the thickness of gland or in deep departments of a channel of sialadens, removal of a sialaden can be required.

Surgical removal of a sialaden has a number of risks and can bring to:

• To injury of a lingual nerve;
• To injury of branches of a facial nerve that can cause disturbances of a facial expression;
• To injury of large vessels of a neck or person with development of dangerous bleedings;
• To deformation of soft tissues and formation of a hem.

In certain cases treatment of sialadens and a removing calculus carry out by means of superthin endoscopes that allows to reduce considerably risk from the carried-out intervention.

Also the stricture of a channel of sialadens belongs to widespread diseases of sialadens. This disease is characterized by reduction of a gleam of an output channel of gland due to narrowing of its walls that breaks natural outflow of saliva and causes inflammatory process. Treatment of sialadens at this pathology is carried out by means of a sialoskopiya that allows to broaden the narrowed section of the canal.

Parotitis which main symptom is the inflammation of sialadens can be as infectious character (epidemic parotitis), and to arise owing to overcooling or infection of the wounds located in an oral cavity.

Parotitis is characterized by painful swelling of sialadens that results in difficulties of a chewing of food. The increased temperature (usually to 38 °), appetite loss, a headache and weakness belongs to other symptoms of a disease.

Parotitis can have uncomplicated character at which only sialadens are surprised. In certain cases in addition to them also other bodies are surprised that leads to development of such serious illness as an orchitis, myocarditis, meningitis, pancreatitis, an encephalomeningitis, arthritises, mastitis, nephrite.

There is no specific treatment of sialadens at this disease. Depending on disease carry out symptomatic therapy.

Treat other diseases of sialadens:

• Saladenit (parenchymatous or intersticial);
• Obstructive defeats (polyps);
• Sialdokhit;
• Sinr Shegrena, Mikulich's disease;
• Sialoses (neurogenic, endocrine, autoimmune).