Sialographic investigations on the anatomy of mouse parotid glands.
The anatomic structure of the mouse parotid gland was investigated by a sialographic method. The mouse parotid was infused with 0.4-0.6 micron grains of barium sulfate sol as an x-ray contrast medium and extirpated. The excised gland was flattened and imaged by using 10 or 25 k Vp x-rays. Twelve different strains of male mice 12 weeks old were investigated. It was found that the mouse parotid gland has the club-shaped major lobe and the accessory lobe and that the major lobe is further divided into three lobes: the superior lobe which extends underneath the ear, the middle lobe, and the inferior lobe which extends toward the submandibular gland. The accessory lobe began from the proximal part of Stensen's duct and extended to underneath the eye. The presence of the accessory lobe, the shape of the major lobe, and the branching pattern of the parotid duct tree were mouse strain dependent.
D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012796:Sialography; D013045:Species Specificity