Salivary glands function
- how saliva is made
- how is saliva made in the body
- how is saliva made in the mouth
- how much saliva is made a day
Composition of saliva physiology!
Saliva: What Does It Do and What Is Made Of?
Our saliva is ninety-nine per cent water. The remaining one per cent, however, contains numerous substances important for digestion, dental health and control of microbial growth in the mouth.
The salivary glands in our mouth produce about 1-2 litres of saliva daily.
Blood plasma is used as the basis, from which the salivary glands extract some substances and add various others.
Salivary glands
The list of ingredients found so far in saliva is long, and growing. Just as varied are the many functions, of which only a few major ones will be outlined below.
Food and saliva
Preventing us from choking on food
An important role of saliva during eating is based in its sliminess.
During mastication the dry, crumbly or disintegrating food turns into a soft, cohesive lump, the “bolus”.1 This bolus is held together by long, thread-like molecules, the mucins, which get tangled up at their ends.
Moreover, mucins bind large quantities of water and thus keep the bolus moist and soft.2,3 This is important for us not
- how much saliva is made per day
- how saliva is formed