Saliva

Saliva is a part of every day for every human. It is there, all crusty and nasty in the morning in the corners of our mouths, it is there when we eat our meals and in fact it breaks down molecules of food so that our taste buds can be stimulated (Saladin, 2020), and it is there when we are are at rest, lubricating and moistening our mouths and throats (Saladin, 2020). But what is in saliva, and what does it do? Mucus is 97% to 99.5% water, but it contains the following solutes, and these solutes all have functions in the body (Saladin, 2020):

· Mucus – helps to bind and lubricate the food bolus made by our mouths so that we can swallow (Saladin, 2020)

· Electrolytes – salts of sodium, potassium, chloride, phosphate, and bicarbonate (Saladin, 2020)

· Lysozyme – an antibacterial enzyme (Saladin, 2020)

· Immunoglobin A (IgA) – an antibacterial antibody (Saladin, 2020)

· Salivary amylase – an enzyme responsible for starting the process of digesting starches (Saladin, 2020)

· Lingual lipase – although the bulk of the process does not happen until after food is swallowed, this enzyme begins the digestion of fats (Saladin, 2020)

That is a lot of functions for saliva to undertake. Problems can arise with the salivary glands, and in turn the production of saliva, and then those functions are not able to be carried out and complications can arise. Here are some, though not all, of the disorders of salivary glands and a brief overview of the symptoms and therapies for these common disorders:

· Sialolithiasis – stones made of calcium that can form in the salivary glands and can block the glands, partially or totally blocking the flow of saliva, characterized by a painful lump under the tongue and increased pain while eating, corrected by surgery to remove the stone (Nall, 2018).

· Sialadenitis – infection in a salivary gland, symptoms include lump in cheek or under chin, pus that drains into the mouth that is often strong or foul-smelling, fever, often results from the stones blocking the gland, treated by antibiotics (Nall, 2018).

· Sjrogen’s syndrome – white blood cells target healthy cells in the moisture-producing glands (sweat, oil, saliva); most commonly affects women with autoimmune disorders such as lupus, indicated by dry mouth and eyes, tooth decay, mouth sores, joint pain, dry cough, unexplained fatigue, swollen salivary glands and frequent salivary gland infections, medication is the treatment for this disorder (Nall, 2018).

· Tumors (cancerous and non-cancerous) – typically occurring in 50-60 year-olds and affecting the parotid glands, characterized by yellow mucus that drains when the mass bursts, difficulty in eating, speaking, swallowing, these tumors need radiation and/or surgery as needed depending on if the tumor is cancerous (Nall, 2018).

· Viruses (mumps, flu, Coxsackie virus, echovirus, cytomegalovirus) – Causes infections and can be described by fever, muscle aches, joint pain, swelling on both sides of the face, headache, treated with antiviral medications (Nall, 2018).

Critical Thinking

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 Saliva is integral to our daily lives and our overall health. Without mucus, we would not be able to get food down our throats or be able to begin digestion on starches and fats to nourish our bodies and we would die. Without electrolytes we would not be able to undertake many of the body’s essential functions and we would die. We would die if our bodies did not have lysozyme and immunoglobin A to fight infection. I knew already that saliva is very important because I have been very thirsty before and noticed how my mouth dried out and I could not even get my tongue to move the way it normally does because it had no lubrication, but I did not know that it served as many functions as it does in the body. My sister has Sjrogen’s syndrome, and I have always know that it is debilitating to her, but I never knew how many things it affects in her life. Saliva is an essential part of my life, as well as everyone else in the world, and knowing what it is and how it works will help me in my daily life.

References

Saladin, K. (2020). Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function 9th ed. McGraw-Hill Education. 

Nall, R. (2018, June 18). Salivary Gland Disorders. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/salivary-gland-disorders

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Describe the composition and functions of saliva

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Does saliva kill all the bacteria in our mouth? How many different species of bacteria do we have in our mouth? How does the composition of saliva change depending on sympathetic vs. parasympathetic stimulation?

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