Tucker Abigail S
Department of Craniofacial Development and Orthodontics, Guy's Hospital, London, UK.
Front Oral Biol. 2010;14:21-31. doi: 10.1159/000313705. Epub 2010 Apr 20.
Salivary glands across the animal kingdom show a huge array of shapes, sizes and variations in number within the oral cavity. Some are branched, others elongated and unbranched, some are small and numerous, while others are greatly enlarged. In most species the salivary glands are used to produce saliva, which lubricates the oral cavity, aids digestion and protects the oral mucosa and dentition. In some species, however, the glands have been modified so that they function in new and diverse ways. Examples include the ability to create thread from the salivary glands to create hides and cocoons, as shown by some arthropods, the ability to create nests out of saliva, as shown by the Aerodramus swiftlets, or the ability to produce venom from modified salivary glands. In this chapter these different adaptations will be discussed, looking at how the salivary glands have become adapted to their new role, with insights from developmental biology and evolution.
在整个动物界，唾液腺在口腔内呈现出各种各样的形状、大小和数量变化。有些是分支状的，有些是细长且无分支的，有些小而众多，而有些则大大增大。在大多数物种中，唾液腺用于产生唾液，唾液润滑口腔、帮助消化并保护口腔黏膜和牙齿。然而，在一些物种中，这些腺体已经发生了改变，从而以新的、多样的方式发挥功能。例如，一些节肢动物能够利用唾液腺分泌丝线来制造藏身之处和茧；金丝燕能够用唾液筑巢；或者一些经过改造的唾液腺能够产生毒液。在本章中，我们将讨论这些不同的适应性变化，探讨唾液腺是如何适应其新角色的，并借鉴发育生物学和进化方面的见解。
