Abstract
In view of the existence of both humoral and nervous mechanisms for the regulation of the secretory activity of the stomach and pancreas, it was decided to investigate the possibility of such dual control of the activity of the salivary glands. Although it has been tacitly assumed that no hormone mechanism for salivary secretion exists, the literature contains no definite statement on the point. Babkin 1 makes no mention of it in his monograph on the secretory activity of the digestive glands. Langley 2 and Malloizel 3 found that substances which caused a flow of saliva when applied to the tongue were without effect on the paralytic secretion by the submaxillary resulting from section of the chorda tympani nerve.
Two methods were used in this work. The mucous membrane of the mouth and tongue of several dogs was extracted with 0.4% HCl. The application of this reagent to the tongue normally produces a marked flow of saliva. The extract was injected intravenously into dogs under barbital-ether anesthesia in which Wharton's duct had been cannulated. Quantities of extract sufficient to lower the blood pressure from 60 to 80 mm. of Hg were injected without any evidence of increased flow from the cannula. In each case stimulation of the chorda tympani nerve gave a marked response.
The second method was a study of the effect of the application of 0.4% HCl to the tongue of a dog in which one submaxillary gland had been denervated. A fistula of Wharton's duct was prepared in each of 2 dogs. After recovery from the operation, the dogs were placed in the stocks daily, and 0.4% HCl was applied to the tongue. A copious flow of saliva resulted. Three weeks after the first operation, the chorda tympani and cervical sympathetic nerves were sectioned, and the daily applications of acid to the tongue resumed on the second day after the operation.
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