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 g11. sublinguales minores. However, they are completely different kinds of glands. Accordingly, we suggest the terms for these glands: the g1. sublingualis and its ductus sublingualis ("major" is useless), the g11. sublinguales minores and their ductus sublinguales minores. 3. The N.A.V.J. and some scholars use the term g1. 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 g11. sublinguales minores and their excretory ducts should be replaced with the term the ductus sublinguales minores. 4. The g1. lingualis anterior, g1. retromolaris and g1. 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 g11. linguales anteriores, g11. retromolares and g11. lacrimales such as the g11. labiales, g11. buccales and g11. palatinae.