Anatomy of the

Mouth And
Salivary Glands
Summary Review
 The Mouth
• The mouth is an oval-shaped
cavity located below the nose
• It is the first part of the GIT
• It is comprised of;
- Lips
- Vestibule
- Oral cavity
- Tongue
- Teeth/gums
- Salivary glands
 Oral Cavity
• Inferior to the nasal
cavities
• Has roof and floor, and
lateral walls,
• Opens onto the face
through the oral fissure
• Continuous with the cavity
of the pharynx at the
oropharyngeal isthmus.
 Parts of Oral Cavity
• Divided into two parts:
• Outer region - Vestibule
• Inner region - Oral cavity
proper
- Vestibule: A narrow space
outside the teeth and gums,
but inside the cheek and lips
- Oral cavity proper: A
large space inside the teeth
and gums
 Openings in the Vestibule
• Opening of parotid duct -
opposite the crown of the
upper, 2nd molar tooth
• Opening of the labial and
buccal mucus glands
• Opening of 4 or 5 mucus
molar glands situated on
the buccopharyngeal
fascia
 Walls of Oral Cavity
• Roof - consists of the hard and soft
palates
• Floor - formed mainly of soft
tissues
• muscular diaphragm and the tongue
• Lateral walls - cheeks with muscles
• merge anteriorly with the lips
surrounding the oral fissure (the
anterior opening of the oral cavity)
• Posteriorly – the aperture of the
oral cavity opens into the oral part
of the pharynx
 Functions of Oral Cavity
Nutrition
• Mastication
• Salivary Glands
• Swallowing
Talking
• manipulates sounds produced by the larynx to produce
speech
Breathing
• Emergency Airway
 Oral Cavity
ORAL MUCOSA: 3 types
• Lining mucosa (cheeks)
masticatory mucosa
(hard palate),
specialized mucosa
(dorsum of tongue)
• Epithelium: stratified
squamous epithelium
(keratinized, non-
keratinized)
• Ducts of salivary glands
open into the oral
cavity via ducts
 Lips

• Core of fibro-elastic CT and

skeletal muscle
• Outside is thin skin with hairs
and glands
• The transition zone is the
Vermilion border
• Glands are absent
• The small pea-shaped labial glands
are between the muscle tissue and
the oral mucosa and open into the
oral vestibule
 Lips Contd.

• Inside is a thick stratified squamous epithelium,

with mucous glands in its lamina propria.
• The cheek is similar, but has more adipose tissue,
and no red margin.
 Teeth
• Two types: 20 deciduous, 32 permanent
• Permanent: 20 succedaneous, 12 accessional
• Each tooth has: a crown, cervix/neck, root, pulp cavity,
periodontal ligament, bony socket/alveolus, gingiva/gum, apical
foramen
• Most of the teeth in an adult are successional (Succedaneous),
i.e., they have succeeded in a corresponding number of milk
teeth
• The permanent molars, however, are accessional, as they are
added later on and have no corresponding milk teeth
 Number of Teeth
• There are 16 permanent teeth in each jaw = 32 in both jaws
• Humans are diphyodont - two sets of teeth develop in a
person’s lifetime
• The first set of teeth is primary or deciduous teeth
• They begin to form prenatally at about 14 weeks of IUL and
completed postnatally at about 3 years of age
• The deciduous teeth remain intact up to about 6 years of
age. At about that time, the permanent teeth begin to erupt
 Contd.
• The first of deciduous teeth (lower central incisors)
erupt approximately 6 months after birth
• The first permanent tooth (first molar) erupts at
approximately 6 years and continues until about 17
years of age
• The wisdom teeth are less predictable and if they do
erupt, it is between the ages of 17 and 25
 Functions of Teeth
1. Crushing and grinding food material during
mastication (premolars and molars)
2. Tearing and grasping (canines)
3. Biting and cutting (incisors)
4. Provide beauty to the face and means for facial
expression
5. Formation of sounds and speaking clearly
6. As a weapon for defense or attack
 Structure of a Tooth
Crown: Anatomical crown (part
that is
covered by Enamel, Clinical crown
(part that projects into the oral cavity
Root: The part embedded beneath
the
gum within the socket of the jaw
Neck: The constricted part between
the root and the crown
 Tooth Components

• (a) Enamel: covers the crown of

the tooth, 96% mineral crystals,
4% organic content, completely
acellular
• (b) Dentine: supports enamel,
acts as the skeleton of the tooth,
hard material made up of
collagen fibrils, impregnated
with crystals of calcium salts
• (c) Cementum: A thin layer of Contd.
bone-like material, but no
Haversian systems, covers the
root only. Collagen fibers of the
periodontal ligament are
inserted into it
• (d) Pulp: jelly-like ground
substance, with CT cells, blood
and lymphatic vessels, and
nerves
Human Dental
Formular
Human Dental formula
Nerve supply
to the Teeth
 Gingiva/gum and raphe of hard palate

• Mucos membrane of the

mandibular and maxillary Gingiva is…
arches that anchors the teeth
• 75% Parakeratinized
• Stratified squamous non-
• 15% Keratinized
keratinized epithelium (partly
keratinized) on a dense CT • 10% Non-keratinized
lamina propria, with deeply
penetrating papillae
 Soft Palate

• Made of Fibrous tissue and skeletal muscle core, with

mucous glands.
• Pseudostratified columnar ciliated epithelium
covers the pharyngeal side, and stratified squamous
the oral surface.
• Functions in deglutition (swallowing), speech,
blowing, coughing, and sneezing.
 The Tongue
• Large, mobile organ on the floor of the oral cavity
• The dorsal surface is free, and a ventral surface is
free anteriorly, but attached to the floor of the oral
cavity posteriorly
• The dorsal and ventral surfaces become continuous
at the lateral margins and the tip
 Tongue Contd.
• Sulcus terminalis
• Foramen cecum
• Papillae, 4types:
- Filiform
- Fungiform
- Circumvallate
- Foliate
 Inferior Surface of the Tongue
• Lacks papillae
• Has several linear mucosal folds
• A single median fold (the
frenulum of the tongue) is
continuous with the mucosa
covering the floor of the oral
cavity
• On each side of the frenulum is a
lingual vein
 Muscles of the Tongue
A) Intrinsic Muscles:
• Inferior longitudinal, superior longitudinal, transverse, and vertical
muscle fibers
• Function in altering the shape of the tongue

B) Extrinsic Muscles:
• Originate from structures outside the tongue and insert into the
tongue
• Genioglossus, Hyoglossus, Styloglossus, Palatoglossus
• They protrude, retract, depress, and elevate the tongue
 Types of Papillae
(a) Filiform - most numerous,
spiky, with a partly keratinized
tip that is shed, located at the
central area of ant. 2/3rd
(b) Fungiform - less
numerous, larger, with some
taste buds in their smooth
tops. Their epithelium is
non-keratinized, located
around the periphery of the
ant. 2/3rd
 Papillae Contd.
(c) Circumvallate – Largest,
least numerous, lies along the
terminal sulcus, surrounded by a
trench and with taste buds in its
wall
• The papillae in general increase
the area of contact between
the surface of the tongue and
the contents of the oral cavity
• All except the filiform papillae
have taste buds on their
surfaces
 Taste Bud
• Intraepithelial sensory
organ
• About 3000 in ant tongue
and post oral cavity.
• Each with 60 – 80
spindle-shaped cells
• 70 – 80 micrometer long
• 30 – 40 micrometer wide.
Arteries: Blood Supply
• The major artery of the
tongue is the lingual artery.
• Originates from the external
carotid artery in the neck
adjacent to the tip of the
greater horn of the hyoid
bone
• In addition to the tongue,
the lingual artery supplies
the sublingual gland, gingiva,
and oral mucosa in the floor
of the oral cavity
Veins:
• The tongue is drained by
dorsal lingual and deep
lingual veins.
• The deep lingual veins
• visible through the
mucosa on the
undersurface of the
tongue.
• accompany the lingual
arteries in anterior parts
of the tongue
• become separated from
the arteries posteriorly by
the hyoglossus muscles.
 Nerve Supply
Glossopharyngeal nerve
[IX]
• Taste (SA) and general
sensation from the pharyngeal
part of the tongue are carried
by the glossopharyngeal nerve
[IX].

Lingual nerve
• General sensory innervation from
the anterior two-thirds or oral
part of the tongue is carried by
the lingual nerve
 Contd.
Facial nerve [VII]
• Taste (SA) from the oral part of the
tongue is carried into the central
nervous system by the facial nerve
[VII] (Special sensation)
• Special sensory (SA) fibers of the
facial nerve [VII] leave the tongue and
oral cavity as part of the lingual nerve
• The fibers then enter the chorda
tympani nerve
• a branch of the facial nerve [VII]
that joins the lingual nerve in the
infratemporal fossa
Salivary Glands
• Major salivary
glands include;
• parotid
• Submandibular
• sublingual glands
Classification of Glands

Sublingual
Parotid Gland:
• One on each side
• Entirely outside the boundaries of
the oral cavity
• Located in a shallow triangular-
shaped trench formed by:
• Sternocleidomastoid muscle
behind
• Ramus of mandible in front
• External acoustic meatus and
the posterior aspect of the
zygomatic arch superiorly, as
base
Location:
• Anterior to and below the
lower half of the ear
• Superficial, posterior to the
ramus of the mandible
• Extends down to the lower
border of the mandible and
up to the zygomatic arch.
• Posteriorly it covers the
anterior part of the
sternocleidomastoid muscle
and continues anteriorly to
halfway across the
masseter muscle.
The Parotid Duct (Stensen’s Duct):
• Leaves the anterior edge of the
parotid gland midway
• Crosses the face in a transverse
direction to the anterior border of
the masseter muscle
• Turns deeply into the buccal pad
of fat and pierces the buccinator
muscle
• Enters the inside of the mouth
near the second upper molar
tooth
Important Relationships:
• Major structures enter
and pass through or
pass just deep to the
parotid gland.
• Facial nerve [VII]
(most superficial)
• External carotid artery
and its branches
(deepest)
• Retromandibular vein
and its tributaries
Facial Nerve:
• The intimate
relationships between
the facial nerve [VII]
and the parotid gland
mean that surgical
removal of the parotid
gland is a difficult
dissection if all
branches of the facial
nerve [VII] are to be
spared.
 Facial Nerve
• Exits the skull through the
stylomastoid foramen
• Passes into the deep substance of the
parotid gland
• Divides into upper and lower trunks
• Five terminal branches emerge from
the upper, anterior, and lower
borders of the gland.
• Temporal
• Zygomatic
• Buccal
• Marginal mandibular
• Cervical branches
Vascular Supply to the
Parotid Gland
Arterial Supply:
Branches of external
carotid artery
Venous Drainage:
External jugular vein
Lymphatic Drainage:
Upper deep cervical
lymph nodes
IJV
Wharton’s Duct:
Runs forward and
opens into the
mouth beneath the
tongue, and lateral to
the lingual frenulum
Blood Supply to
Salivary Glands
Development of Salivary Glands
Properties of Saliva
Functions of Saliva
 Functional Anatomy
• The parotid gland produces watery saliva and salivary amylase,
which are necessary for forming the food bolus, oral digestion,
and facilitating the smooth passage of the bolus into the upper
gastrointestinal tract.
• Viral Parotitis (mumps)
• Parotid Abscess
• Eye tooth: The upper canine tooth is often referred to as the eye
tooth because sometimes its long root may extend up to the medial
angle of the eye. The infection from its root may reach the facial
vein, which may lead to cavernous sinus thrombosis
...................The End