The submandibular duct (also Wharton's duct or historically submaxillary duct) is one of the salivary excretory ducts. It is about 5 cm long, and its wall is much thinner than that of the parotid duct. It drains saliva from each bilateral submandibular gland and sublingual gland to the sublingual caruncle in the floor of the mouth.

Structure

270px, Picture of the mouth showing the sublingual caruncle and related anatomical structures The submandibular duct arises from deep part of submandibular gland, a

salivary gland The salivary glands in many vertebrates including mammals are exocrine glands that produce saliva through a system of ducts. Humans have three paired major salivary glands ( parotid, submandibular, and sublingual), as well as hundreds of min ...

. It begins by numerous branches from the superficial surface of the gland, and runs forward between the mylohyoid, hyoglossus, and genioglossus

muscle Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...

s. It then passes between the sublingual gland and the genioglossus and opens by a narrow opening on the summit of a small papilla (the "sublingual caruncle") at the side of the frenulum of the tongue. It lies superior to lingual and hypoglossal nerves.

Variation

The submandibular duct may be duplicated on one side or both sides, creating an accessory submandibular duct. Rarely, it may not perforate into the

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

Function

The submandibular ducts drain saliva from the submandibular and sublingual glands to the sublingual caruncles in the floor of the mouth

Clinical significance

Sialolithiasis

The submandibular duct may be affected by stones, known as sialolithiasis. These may grow large, requiring

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

to remove. Simple palpation may be used to identify the location of any stones before surgery.

Imperforate

Rarely, the submandibular duct may not perforate into the

Surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

may be used to repair this birth defect.

Drooling

The exit of the submandibular gland into the mouth may be realigned in patients who drool. This redirects the exiting saliva away from the vestibule and the lips. This

has a fairly high success rate. Rarely, the submandibular gland may need to be removed on one or both sides.

History

The submandibular duct was initially described by the English

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

Thomas Wharton ( 1614-73) and is sometimes referred to by his name.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Glands of mouth Saliva