Histology of the Oral Cavity

Sheila Nunn Opening remarks of paper, 'Art and

Professor of Anatomy Artifice in the Science of Histology'
(1933)
Email: snunn@rossu.edu
“Histology is an exotic meal but can be
Practice questions to be found as repulsive as a dose of medicine for
below handout on canvas students who are obliged to study it,
and little loved by doctors who have
Please email me any questions or to finished their study of it all too hastily.
set up a 1:1 webex meeting Taken compulsorily in large doses it is
impossible to digest, but after
repeated tastings in small draughts it
becomes completely agreeable and
even addictive.
Recommended Reading:
Junquiera’s Basic Histology Text and Atlas (16th Edition). Digestive System

A
 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lecture, associated reading and recommended resources you should be able to:

• Know the histological structure of the tongue

• Know the structure and location of the papillae
• Know the location and structural differences of the major salivary glands.
• Describe the digestive tract in terms of the four layers
 Oral Cavity includes Nine distinct anatomical entities:

1. Lips
2. Cheeks
3. Palate: Roof of the mouth
4. Floor of the mouth: under the
tongue
5. Gums: Gingiva
6. Tongue (need to know the
histology)
7. Teeth
8. Minor salivary glands
9. Major salivary glands - Parotid,
submandibular, sublingual (need
to know the histology)
 The Tongue
• The tongue is divided into an:
1. Oral (anterior) two thirds and
2. Pharyngeal (posterior) one third
by the V-shaped sulcus
terminalis

• At the apex of the sulcus

terminalis is the foramen cecum
(origin of the thyroid gland)

• For histological purposes we will

focus on the oral (anterior) two
thirds
Dorsal tongue:
• Specialized epithelium. It is keratinized
stratified squamous over most area except for
some parts of the protruding papillae (see
next slide)

Ventral tongue:
1
• Non keratinized lining mucosa.

Muscular layer of the tongue (i.e. inner 2

component):
• Entirely skeletal muscle.
• Three orthogonally arranged muscles 3
(labeled 1,2,3 in image)
• Innervated exclusively by the XII cranial nerve
(Hypoglossal)
• There is NO muscularis mucosa in the tongue,
the lamina propria and submucosa are
continuous
• Contains minor salivary glands.
• On the dorsal and lateral surface
of the tongue the mucosa is
organized into small projections
termed papillae of which there
are four principal kinds:

1. Filiform Papillae
2. Fungiform Papillae
3. Circumvallate (vallate) papillae
4. Foliate papillae
 1. Filiform Papillae
• Connectives tissue core and
heavily keratinized epithelium
• Catch the food and give the
tongue its sandpaper-like
character
• Most abundant type
• No taste buds

2. Fungiform Papillae
• Larger mushroom-shaped
projections
• Covered by non-keratinized or lightly
keratinized stratified squamous
epithelium
• Have taste buds on their dorsal
surface
 3. Circumvallate papillae
• Largest papillae

• Row of 8 to 14 that run across the

tongue about 2/3rd of the way
posteriorly

• Mushroom-shaped and covered by non-‐

keratinized epithelium

• 0.1 -‐2mm

• About 250 taste buds/papillae located

laterally facing the moat that surrounds
the base of the papillae

• Von Ebner’s glands: pure serous, in

association with the circumvallate papillae
where they secrete into the moat
 Foliate Papillae
• Leaf-like, along the side of
the tongue

• Contain taste buds

• Rudimentary in human

• Absent in some individuals

(hence some textbooks
state not present in
humans: note the
discrepancy between
resources)
 SALIVARY GLANDS Longitudinal section through papillae (which are surface
projections on the tongue)

1. Minor salivary glands

• Scattered throughout the submucosa of
the lips, cheeks, tongue, soft palate and
floor of the mouth.
• Secrete into the oral cavity through
many short ducts
• Except for the von Ebner’s glands
(associated with papillae of the tongue)
they are all seromucous glands but differ
widely in the proportion of serous and
mucus acini

EP= epithelium, D = ducts, Gl = von Ebner’s glands

TB= taste buds
2. Major salivary glands

• There are three pairs of major salivary

glands: parotid, submandibular and
sublingual

• Secrete into the oral cavity through

one or few large excretory ducts.

• Surrounded by a capsule of dense

irregular collagenous connective
tissue
• This connective tissue invades the
substance of the gland to form
septa which subdivide each gland
into lobes and lobules
 Gross Anatomy of The Major Salivary Glands
Left lateral view of head and neck
PAROTID GLAND

• Paired glands

• Located anteroinferior to the ear.

• Each has a parotid duct (also Left parotid

known as Stensen’s duct) that gland
conducts the saliva secreted from
the gland to the oral cavity.
Parotid
• The parotid duct pierces the duct
buccinator muscle and enters the
Head and Neck Anatomy in N and P 1 for additional details
oral cavity opposite the 2nd
maxillary molar tooth.
 SUBMANDIBULAR GLAND

mandible

Anterior view of neck Lateral view right side head and neck
• Paired gland
• Found within the submandibular triangle (digastric triangle) which corresponds to the
region of the neck immediately beneath the body of the mandible.
• Comprises of a superficial and deep portion
Lateral view right side head and neck

• The submandibular duct (of Wharton) runs from anterior end of deep portion and opens
into the sublingual caruncle at the side of the frenulum of the tongue
 SUBLINGUAL GLAND
Right lateral views of head and neck

tongue

• Lingual refers to the tongue

• Paired gland
• Surrounds the terminal portions of the submandibular ducts
• Secretions empty into the floor of the mouth by 10-20 short ductules
 General Structure of the Major Salivary Glands
ducts

acinus

• The parotid, submandibular and sublingual glands are structurally very similar to one another,
although they produce varying secretions. Each of these glands has a secretory portion
(indicated by the acinus above) and a ductal portion
Use the analogy of a bunch of grapes to assist you with this. The grape is the secretory portion,
and the stalks are the ductal portions
 External view
1. Secretory Portion (S)
• Secretory portion composed of serous
and/or mucous secretory cells S
arranged in acini and are surrounded
by myoepithelial cells (aka basket
cells) S
Transverse view

1. Parotid -‐ purely serous cells

2. Submandibular -‐ mixed,
predominantly serous secreting,
distinctive serous demilunes

3. Sublingual -‐ mixed, predominantly

mucous secreting, serous demilunes
 2. Ductal System

• As stated previously the glands have a dense connective tissue capsule.

• Connective tissue septa penetrate the gland from this capsule to separate it into
lobes and lobules
• The duct system includes intralobular ducts (within the lobules), interlobular
between the lobules , lobar ducts and the main duct
2a. Intralobular Ductal System

• Secretory acini empty into intercalated

ducts which are lined by cuboidal (some
cells low cuboidal others low columnar)
epithelium

• Intercalated ducts join to form a

striated duct which is columnar in
nature.
➢ These ducts are characterized by basal
striations (infoldings of the basal
membrane and associated elongated
mitochondria).
➢ Actively transport Na+ ions from saliva
into the extracellular space
 2b. Interlobular Ductal System
• Ducts from each lobule drain into the interlobular ducts.
• Variable lining: however, before emptying into the oral cavity, main duct of each gland is lined
by stratified squamous non keratinized epithelium

*
 How to Distinguish a Parotid from a Submandibular from a
Sublingual Gland
• Remember:

1. Parotid -‐ purely serous cells (basophilic)

2. Submandibular -‐ mixed, predominantly serous secreting

distinctive serous demilunes (half-moon shaped cells)

3. Sublingual -‐ mixed, predominantly mucous secreting (pale

staining/white), with occasional serous demilunes
 Parotid Gland

A=serous acini. AC=adipose cells (high numbers found in parotid gland)

CT=connective tissue. ID=intercalated duct. StD=striated duct
High power view of parotid gland. Secretory granules within the acini apparent
S=striations of striated duct. PC=plasma cells (these cells produce the immunoglobulins taken up
and re secreted by the acinar cells
 Submandibular Gland

Mixed gland; serous acini predominate hence dark staining from serous secretions
SA=serous acini. MA=mucous acini (lightly staining). A= adipose cells (less than
In parotid gland). ED=excretory ducts
Sublingual Gland

Many mucous acini (M) surrounded by serous demilunes (S)

So let us try and identify the
three glands without the
assistance of labels
 From the Oral Cavity Food Will Pass Into the Esophagus and then
pass through the Gastrointestinal (GI) Tube

THERE ARE GENERALLY FOUR LAYERS

TO THE GI TUBE

• Proceeding from the inside (i.e., from

the lumen):
1. Mucosa
2. Submucosa
3. Muscularis externa
4. Adventitia/serosa