Salivary gland sexual dimorphism: a brief review.

The term "sexual dimorphism" refers to any differences in form, whether those differences be morphological, chemical, or physiological in nature. Sexual dimorphism may be manifested as differences in size, morphological appearance, metabolic activities, responses to hormones, drug sensitivity, rates of maturation, etc. The first report, in 1940, of a sexual dimorphism of salivary glands was that of morphological differences between the submandibular glands (SMG) of male and female mice. The sexual dimorphism of the mouse SMG is probably the most widely studied sexual dimorphism of salivary glands. The sexual dimorphism of the mouse SMG has been examined using nearly all methods of study--from neuroanatomical studies of the adrenergic stimulation of secretion by these glands to electrophoretic analysis yielding zymograms of enzymes present in mouse SMG extracts. In addition to a brief review of the sexual dimorphism of the mouse SMG, this report will examine some less well-known examples of salivary gland sexual dimorphism.