ABSTRACT
In postnatal ontogeny, the topographic relationships of the tongue glands and lymphoid structures in the thickness of the tongue have clear age-related features. In this article, we discuss the features of the glandular-lymphoid relationship in the thickness of the tongue, which is of particular scientific and practical importance for more precise understanding of the mechanisms providing local immunity in the oral cavity.
Subject(s)
Lymphoid Tissue/immunology , Mouth Mucosa/immunology , Tongue/immunology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Autopsy , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Immunity, Innate/physiology , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Lymphoid Tissue/pathology , Male , Middle Aged , Mouth Mucosa/pathology , Salivary Glands/immunology , Salivary Glands/pathology , Tongue/pathology , Young AdultABSTRACT
The macroscopic and histological methods were employed to examine the autopsy specimens of salivary lingual glands obtained from 299 patients of both sexes and various age ranging from newborn to longevity. The age-associated alterations of minor lingual and pharyngeal glands were revealed, and the topographical relations between the glands and lymphoid cells were described. The characteristic sparsity of the glands in infancy is caused by nutritional uniformity at this period, when diminished production of secretory IgA results in frequent inflammatory processes in oral and pharyngeal cavities. With age, the glandular orifices widen, and their number increases thereby augmenting local immunity in the oral cavity and in oral aspect of the pharynx. Starting from elderly and senile age, the involutive alterations were observed, which were accompanied by diminished production of secretory immunoglobulin A and related degradation of local and humoral immunity.
