A scanning and transmission electron microscope study of the human minor salivary glands.

Abstract

All human minor salivary glands, apart from the posterior deep lingual (von Ebner's) glands which were serous, contained a minor population of seromucous cells that increased from palatine and posterior superficial lingual (Weber's) to labial, anterior lingual (Blandin and Nuhn's) and buccal glands, in that order. Unlike the predominant mucous cells, whose structure was uniform, serous and seromucous cells exhibited, in each gland, peculiar cytological and cytoarchitectural characters.