Submandibular duct
Ductus submandibularis
- Synonym: Submaxillary duct
- Latin eponym: Ductus Whartoni
- Eponym: Wharton's duct
Definition
The submandibular duct (ductus submaxillaris; Wharton’s duct) is about 5 cm. long, and its wall is much thinner than that of the parotid duct. It begins by numerous branches from the deep surface of the gland, and runs forward between the Mylohyoideus and the Hyoglossus and Genioglossus, then between the sublingual gland and the Genioglossus, and opens by a narrow orifice on the summit of a small papilla, at the side of the frenulum linguæ. On the Hyoglossus it lies between the lingual and hypoglossal nerves, but at the anterior border of the muscle it is crossed laterally by the lingual nerve; the terminal branches of the lingual nerve ascend on its medial side.
References
This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).
