An opinion on the minor sublingual gland.

The authors observed the so-called GI. sublingualis minor in man and the Japanese macaque, and the following conclnsions were reached. 1. The so-called minor sublingual gland is not a single gland, but a group of small independent glands having their own excretory ducts. 2. The several small independent glands and their excretory ducts should be named the GI. sublingualis minor and Ductus sublingualis minor, respectively, and the plural terms are the GII. sublinguales minores and Ductus sublinguales minores. 3. Several Ductus sublinguales minores from tne GI. sublingualis are illusted by diagrams in certain textbooks of human anatomy, but they are incorrect. 4. There is no term of GII. sublinguales minores in the P. N. A. Nevertheless, the Ductus sublinguales minores are included in the GI. sublingualis. However, the GII. sublinguales minores do not belong to the GI. sublingualis. They are two different things. 5. The mucous cells in the GII. sublinguales minores predominantly outnumber the seromucous cells, while the number of mucous cells in the GI. sublingualis is somewhat larger than that of the seromucous cells. 6. The mucous acini in the GII. sublinguales minores are generally larger than those in the GI. sublingualis. 7. The GI. sublingualis consists of two kinds of mucous acini : a large neumber of type I and a small number of type II acini. The type I acini react weakly to pH 1.0 AB, and very weakly to pH 0.5 AB, although some acini are negative to this reaction. The type II acini react strongly even to pH 0.5 AB. The GII. sublinguales minores also have two kinds of mucous acini, and type II predominantly outnumbers type I. 8. Based on items 1)-7),the P. N. A. should separate the Ductus sublinguales minores from the GI. sublingualis, and revive the terms of GI. sublingualis, GII. sublinguales minores, Ductus sublingualis major and Ductus sublinguales minores in the J. N. A. 9.The authors are opposed to the opinion that the group of the GII. sublinguales minores represents a single gland. Accordingly, they are against the terms of GI. sublingualis polystomatica and Ductus sublinguales minores used in the N. A. V.