Submandibular duct

Submandibular duct
Dissection, showing salivary glands of right side. (Labeled as "submaxillary duct", but is identified as "submandibular duct" in newer sources.)
Mandibular division of trifacial nerve, seen from the middle line. The small figure is an enlarged view of the otic ganglion. ("Wharton's duct" labeled in lower left.)
Details
Identifiers
Latin	Ductus submaxillaris
MeSH	A03.556.500.760.640
Dorlands /Elsevier	d_29/12315123
TA	A05.1.02.012
FMA	86266
*Anatomical terminology* [edit on Wikidata]

The submandibular duct or Wharton duct^[1] or submaxillary duct, is one of the salivary excretory ducts. It is about 5 cm. long, and its wall is much thinner than that of the parotid duct. It drains saliva from each bilateral submandibular gland and sublingual gland to the sublingual caruncle at the base of the tongue.^[2]

Structure

It begins by numerous branches from the deep surface of the gland, and runs forward between the mylohyoid, hyoglossus, and genioglossus muscles. It then passes between the sublingual gland and the genioglossus and opens by a narrow opening on the summit of a small papilla at the side of the frenulum of the tongue.

It lies superior to lingual and hypoglossal nerves.

Function

This is the duct from which a hungry person, preparing to take a first bite of food, might accidentally eject a spray of salivary fluid, or, alternatively, intentionally do so in a process called gleeking.

History

It was initially described by the English anatomist Thomas Wharton and is sometimes referred to by his name.^[3]

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

↑ Wharton's duct at Who Named It?
↑ Ten Cate's Oral Histology, Nanci, Elsevier, 2013, page 255
↑ Wharton T (1656). Adenographia: sive glandularum totius corporis descriptio. London: Wharton. pp. 128–137.

External links

Anatomy figure: 34:03-05 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
MedicalMnemonics.com: 329

Anatomy of the mouth

Lip	Upper Lower Vermilion border Frenulum of lower lip Labial commissure of mouth Philtrum

Cheek	Buccal fat pad

Roof	Hard palate Soft palate Palatine raphe Incisive papilla

Gums	Interdental papilla Gingival sulcus Gingival margin Gingival fibers Junctional epithelium Mucogingival junction Sulcular epithelium Stippling Periodontium Cementum Gingiva Periodontal ligament

Glands	Parotid gland duct Submandibular gland duct Sublingual gland duct

Teeth	see tooth anatomy

Tongue	Top Taste bud Median sulcus Terminal sulcus Foramen cecum Lingual tonsils Underside Frenulum Plica fimbriata Sublingual caruncle Glossoepiglottic folds Lingual septum

Back of mouth	Oropharynx fauces Plica semilunaris of the fauces Uvula Palatoglossal arch Palatopharyngeal arch Tonsillar fossa Palatine tonsil

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