Blandin-Nuhn gland is a small and exocrine salivary gland at the tip of the tongue with serum-like mucous secretion. Saliva mainly takes care of the remineralization of hard tissue in the oral cavity and facilitates swallowing. Diseases of the salivary glands are often associated with decreased salivary secretion.
What is the Blandin-Nuhn gland?
The Blandin-Nuhn gland is also known medically as the anterior lingual gland. It is a small salivary gland at the tip of the tongue that secretes a seromucous secretion. This type of secretion has a consistency between liquid and solid. It is therefore also described as a serum-like mucous secretion. The Blandin-Nuhn gland is an exocrine gland. It therefore does not secrete directly into the blood, but releases its secretion through an excretory duct. In the 19th century, the Blandin-Nuhn gland was first described by the anatomists Philippe Frédéric Blandin and Anton Nuhn. Therefore, the two became the namesakes of the anatomical structure. The Blandin-Nuhn gland is one of a total of ten salivary glands in the oral cavity and is classified as one of the seven minor salivary glands.
Anatomy and structure
All salivary glands in the mouth are exocrine glands. Like all other exocrine glands, the Blandin-Nuhn gland is embedded in a cavity system and releases its serum-like mucinous secretions into the cavity of the anatomical structure through an ascending duct. The gland is located in the muscle of the tip of the tongue, on the underside of which, on both sides of the lingual frenulum, there are so-called crypts. The lingual frenulum connects the floor of the mouth with the caudal tongue and its anatomy varies from person to person. The crypts on both sides of the frenulum are more or less deep pits visible on the mucosa of the underside of the tongue. The Blandin-Nuhn gland opens into these pits and releases its secretion from its exit duct into them. In the wall of the oral cavity, apart from the Blandin-Nuhn gland, there are six other small salivary glands, which differ from each other mainly in their location.
Function and tasks
The task of all salivary glands in the oral cavity is to moisten the oral mucosa. Without permanent moistening, the mucosa would dry out and become sore or cracked. Swallowing can also become a problem with a dry oral mucosa. However, saliva also performs numerous tasks in the mouth apart from moistening. For example, the secretion plays a role in oral hygiene. The fluid contains numerous enzymes and proteins. During chewing, digestive enzymes in the saliva break down the food. Apart from that, some components of saliva neutralize acids from food. Minerals are contained in the secretion of the salivary glands. Acids attack the hard tissue of the oral cavity day after day, thus removing minerals from it. The saliva makes up for these losses. A constant process of demineralization and remineralization thus takes place in the mouth. During remineralization, the damaged tooth enamel is rebuilt. The hard tissue in the mouth is thus given a protective coating against caries and other dental diseases. The enzymes in saliva polish the enamel and thus remove minerals that have been incorporated in above-average quantities. Human saliva probably also contains painkilling substances such as opiorphin. This explains, for example, the pain-relieving effect when a person puts his finger in his mouth after he has burned himself. Immunoglobulin A is also found in saliva and thus prevents infections of the oral cavity. Thus, just like any other salivary gland, the tasks of the Blandin-Nuhn gland are diverse.
Diseases
The Blandin-Nuhn gland can be affected by inflammations, which are also called sialadinitis by medicine. Such manifestations are noticeable as a sharp pain. The tip of the tongue swells and may become cracked. If cracks are present, saliva can sometimes penetrate into the deeper tissues and cause cysts to form there. Chronic active sialadenitis is usually caused by bacteria. To be distinguished from this is autoimmune sialadenitis, in which the immune system does not recognize its own tissue in the oral cavity as its own tissue and therefore launches an attack on it. So-called salivary stones sometimes form in the duct of a salivary gland. This disease causes pressure pain in the area of the tongue.Salivary glands such as the Blandin-Nuhn gland are sometimes also affected by tumors. These tumors are either benign or malignant. For example, a benign tumor is the submucosal retention cyst of the anterior lingual gland. If the production and secretion of saliva from the Blandin-Nuhn gland is no longer functioning properly, this can also manifest itself as pain in the area of the tongue. In this case, the pain is due to the resulting dryness of the mouth, which in the case of the Blandin-Nuhn gland mainly affects the tongue. In this phenomenon, the taste buds of the tongue sometimes no longer perceive taste or perceive it incorrectly. This phenomenon can occur as part of the physiological aging process, since in old age the salivary glands are less active and slowly lose their function. Medications also have an effect on the production of saliva. As a result of dry mouth, the enamel is attacked and the hard tissue is henceforth no longer remineralizable.
