salivary gland,any of the organs that secrete saliva, a substance that moistens and softens food, into the oral cavity of vertebrates.

Salivary glands may be predominantly serous, mucous, or mixed in secretion. Mucus is a thick, clear, and somewhat slimy substance. Serous secretion is a more liquid opalescent fluid composed of water and proteins, such as the digestive enzyme amylase. Depending on the types of cells present, the glands may be specific, giving off only one of these two substances; or they may be mixed, giving off combinations of both secretions. Secretions can be increased by the presence, thought, or smell of food and also by thermal stimulation.

In addition to numerous small glands in the tongue, palate, lips, and cheeks, human beings have three pairs of major salivary glands that open into the mouth through well-developed ducts. The parotid salivary glands, the largest of the three, are located between the ear and ascending branch of the lower jaw. Each gland is enclosed in a tissue capsule and is composed of fat tissue and cells that secrete mainly serous fluids. Each gland’s major duct (Stensen’s duct) opens in the rear of the mouth cavity near the second upper molar. The second pair, the submaxillary glands, also called submandibular glands, are located along the side of the lower jawbone. The major duct of each (Wharton’s duct) opens into the floor of the mouth at the junction where the front of the tongue meets the mouth’s floor. A capsule of tissue also surrounds each of these glands, which give off mixed secretions mostly serous in nature. The third pair, the sublingual glands, are situated beneath the mucous membrane of the floor of the mouth, near the chin region. They are not covered by a capsule and are therefore more dispersed throughout the surrounding tissue. They have many ducts (Rivinus’s ducts) that empty near the junction of the tongue and the mouth’s floor; several unite to form Bartholin’s duct, the major duct of the sublingual gland, which empties into or near the submaxillary duct. These glands secrete a mixed fluid that is mainly mucus. See also saliva.