Histochemical localization and functional significance of carbonic anhydrase in the salivary glands of some rodents and lagomorpha: an optical and electron microscopical study.

An investigation was carried out by light and electron microscopy on the localization of the carbonic anhydrase enzyme in the submandibular and sublingual glands of some rodents and lagomorpha. By means of the cobalt-bicarbonate technique, it was demonstrated that in the submandibular glands the carbonic anhydrase activity is more intense in the terminal tracts, and that in the sublingual glands the enzyme activity is present in an equal degree in the terminal tracts and in the intralobular ducts. The results obtained are compared to those of other authors, and conjectures are made as to the functional significance of the carbonic anhydrase activity in the salivary glands.