A Study on Baro-receptive Nerve Fibers from the Submandibular Gland of the Dog.

Histological studies have demonstrated sensory nerve endings in the salivary glands of mammals. SASYBIN1) observed Krause's and Pacinian corpuscles in the connective tissue of the salivary gland. BAUMANN" found sensory endings in the wall of the small excretory duct of the salivary gland, and SUZUKI" also reported encapsulated sensory end-organs, such as Vater-Pacini corpuscles, in the acino-ductal shifting part of a human salivary gland. The presence of nerve endings in the salivary glands strongly suggests that some sensory information may be transmitted to the brain from the salivary glands. However, so far as we are aware, no definite physiological evidence has been reported on afferent nerve fibers from the salivary glands and the physiologic function of these nerves remains obscure. In the present study, nerve fibers transmitting information from the salivary gland to the central nervous system were detected in the chorda tympani nerve of the dog, and the physiological characters and function of these sensory nerve fibers from the gland were evaluated.