Recording the Pattern of Salivary Flow

¹ University Department of Medicine, Gardiner Institute, Western Infirmary, Dental Hospital and School, and Regional Physics Department, Glasgow, Scotland

A saliva outflow recorder designed around three photoelectric detectors is described. Using this system the pattern of flow can be recorded simultaneously from three glands and the saliva collected for subsequent analysis.

The concentration of many salivary constituents varies with flow rate. When saliva samples are collected for chemical analysis, increased precision is obtained by exclusion of samples with irregular flow pattern. This cannot be determined accurately by visual methods; a suitable automatic recorder is described. Iodide has been used as an example to illustrate the inaccurate results that may be obtained if variations in flow rate, e.g., with swallowing, irregular application of stimulus, etc., are disregarded.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D.K. Mason, J.A. Boyle, R.M. Harden, A. M. Duncan, and W.R. Greig The Influence of Flow Rate on the Concentration of Uric Acid in Human Parotid and Submandibular Saliva Journal of Dental Research, September 1, 1966; 45(5): 1439 - 1444. [PDF]