| Abstract: | A quantitative study was made of the morphological and functional characteristics of different parts of the submaxillary salivary glands of albino rats in different stages of involution of the neuroendocrine system. During aging the salivary gland function of rats is preserved, and just as in young animals, clear cyclic fluctuations are observed depending on the phases of the estrous cycle, although the basal level of proteins and mucopolysaccharides is reduced, to correspond on average to the minimal found in young animals. Meanwhile activation of the enzymes responsible for energy and transport processes in the cell is observed and relations between the enzymes are altered. The results prove that the salivary glands are connected with the endocrine system and they confirm the view that in early age involution what occurs is not so much a change of function as a disturbance of relations between the different indices of functional activity of the organ.Department of Pathological Anatomy, I. P. Pavlov First Leningrad Medical Institute. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR V. K. Kulagin.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 88, No. 12, pp. 736–739, December, 1979. |
