Saliva

Saliva is the fluid secreted into the mouth by salivary glands. It lubricates food and oral tissues, buffers acids, and supplies minerals that help repair tooth enamel.

Salivary glands: Exocrine glands that release saliva into the mouth through ducts. They produce and deliver the fluid that makes up saliva.
Electrolyte: A substance that forms electrically charged ions when dissolved in water. Saliva’s dissolved ions underpin its buffering and mineral-repair functions.
Xerostomia: The subjective sensation of dry mouth, often associated with reduced or altered saliva. It shows what happens when saliva no longer adequately moistens the mouth.
Mastication: The mechanical breakdown of food by chewing. Saliva moistens food during chewing and helps form a swallowable mass.
Salivary amylase: An enzyme in saliva that begins the breakdown of starch into smaller carbohydrates. Its action starts carbohydrate digestion while food is being chewed.
Water: A chemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen that is liquid under ordinary surface conditions. Water is saliva’s main solvent and supports its cleansing and lubricating action.
Hyposalivation: An objectively reduced rate of salivary secretion. Low secretion weakens the buffering, cleansing, and lubrication described here.
Deglutition: The coordinated process of swallowing food, liquid, or saliva. Lubrication by saliva helps a food bolus pass through the mouth and pharynx.
Mucin: A family of large glycoproteins that form slippery, protective gels on moist surfaces. Mucins give saliva much of its ability to lubricate food and oral tissues.
Lysozyme: An enzyme that damages bacterial cell walls by cleaving peptidoglycan. This antimicrobial enzyme is one of saliva’s innate defenses.

Linked from 25 pages