EXPERIMENTAL OBSTRUCTIVE ADENITIS IN THE MOUSE

¹ Division of Oral Pathology, University of Illinois College of Dentistry, Chicago, Ill.

To study the relationship between duct obstruction on one hand to mucoceles and adenitis on the other, right submaxillary ducts of 31 6-month-old female mice were ligated. Animals were sacrificed at 1, 2, and 3 weeks, and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 9, and 9 months postoperatively. Glands from the right side were fixed in 10 per cent formalin, embedded in paraffin, sectioned serially, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Van Gieson, Mayer's Mucicarmine, and erythrosin-safranine. The left glands were treated similarly except that they were not cut serially.

The findings and conclusions were: (1) Lesions resembling human mucoceles did not follow duct obstruction; (2) Ligation per se causes adenitis; (3) Changes in the gland are comparable to those following obstruction of salivary ducts in man; (4) Ductal cells are the source of new ducts as well as nonfunctioning or partially active acinar cells; (5) Following ligation the secretory cells degenerate or show loss of secretory granules and vacuoles and finally appear as cuboidal or polyhedral cells; and (6) Ligation leads to increase in number of ducts as well as interstitial fibrosis.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Radiology Quiz Case 1--Diagnosis Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, April 1, 2003; 129(4): 492 - 492. [Full Text] [PDF]