Experimental Immunochemistry

Abstract

Physiology of the Salivary Glands A. S. V. BURGEN, M.D.(LOND.), M.R.C.P., and N. G. EMMELIN, M.D.(LUND). Pp. vii + 279, illustrated. Monographs of the Phys. Soc., No. 8. London: Edward Arnold. I96I. 35s. This monograph written by the Professors of Physiology at the McGill University, Montreal, and at the University of Lund, covers with a wealth of detail the physiology as well as the anatomy and the pharmacology of the salivary glands. Each of the authors has written seven chapters. These are well co-ordinated and the text is largely free of repetitions. As befits the joint effort of authors who belong to different medical traditions, the monograph is remarkable for the truly international body of research which has been considered. Extensive lists of references are given at the end of each chapter. A consequence of this arrangement is that quite a number of publications has to be listed more than once. A very readable historical introduction reminds us how often observations on salivary glands promoted understanding of much wider areas of physiology. In the chapter on the anatomy of the glands, the reader is given some morphological evidence for later claims for the secretory function of the salivary ducts. The illustrations of the peculiar features of the blood supply of salivary glands, and of the ultra-structure of their cells, are very instructive. The subsequent chapters deal with subjects to which the authors have made numerous important contributions. Such active engagement inevitably influenced the perspective with which the field has been presented. Professor Emmelin discusses the innervation and the effects of denervation of the glands, their pharmacology, spontaneous salivary secretion, and the relationship between the glandular blood supply and the production of saliva. Work on the organic and inorganic components of saliva, and on the metabolism of the glands, is considered by Professor Burgen. To this reviewer the most stimulating chapter of the book is that on the theories on salivary secretion. In it Professor Burgen opposes with elegant experimenting and bold deduction 'the deeply entrenched prejudice about salivary secretion that the acini are the main or sole begetters of the secretion '. In favour of secretory functions of the duct cells argue electrophysiological studies and salivary rest transients, i.e. the phenomenon that after a rest the first saliva secreted on stimulation may contain for i to 2 min. very high concentrations of potassium and iodine. The different time-courses of the outflow of isotopes after their close arterial injection have been studied and translated entirely into spatial differences in the sites at which the isotopes cross from blood into saliva. Interpreted in this way-and combined with other work-these studies allow one to distinguish in the ducts several functionally different regions in which selective secretion and reabsorption may occur. This monograph has the appeal which scientific literature achieves only when written with authority and enthusiasm. Owing to its clear design, this book will serve equally well those who turn to it for reference on specific points and those who read it for a thorough introduction into the field.