Where is salivary gland parotid? Inflammation of the parotid salivary gland: causes, symptoms, treatment

Where is parotid salivary gland? What is it itself, why it becomes inflamed? The answers to all these questions can be found in the materials in this article. Also you will find out what symptoms are characteristic for the disease of this internal organ and how it is treated.

basic information

What is the parotid salivary gland? Photos of this body you can see in this article.

This is a complex alveolar serous paired salivary gland. It has an irregular shape, as well as a thin capsule, which completely covers it. According to experts, the mass of such an organ is only 20-30 g.

Kinds

Human salivary glands are paired organs. They play a huge role in the process of digesting food, and also have a direct effect on the protein and mineral metabolism that occurs in the body.

Parotid gland parotid is just one of the types of organ under consideration. There are also submandibular and sublingual glands.

How does the function perform?

In the day salivary gland parotid, submandibular and sublingual develop up to 2 liters of fluid. These organs are very important for moisturizing the oral mucosa, as well as for protecting against the introduction of pathogenic bacteria into the body. In addition, they take a direct part in the cleavage of complex carbohydrates and the excretion of certain medicinal substances.

It should also be noted that salivary gland parotid plays the role of endocrine glands, exerting a beneficial effect on protein and mineral metabolism. This is due to the presence in their secret of a hormone-like substance called parotinin.

As is known, saliva helps unhindered passage of food into the pharynx, improves the taste perception, and also increases the resistance of the human body to various infections with the help of lysozyme.

Anatomy and location

Salivary gland parotid has an irregular shape and a grayish pink color. It is located in the parotid-chewing part of the face, immediately under the skin, down and in front of the auricle. Thus, this paired organ is located at the posterior edge of the chewing muscle, on the lateral part of the lower jaw.

Above this organ comes to the zygomatic arch, behind - to the processes of the temporal bone (mastoid) and the anterior edge of the clavicomasto-mastoid muscle, and from below to the lower jaw (to its corner).

The parotid gland is covered with a capsule called "parotid-chewing fascia." Its density is uneven. In its majority, it is dense, but has loosened areas that cover the medial and upper surfaces of the gland.

The capsule in question is introduced into the salivary organ and divides it into lobes. Thus, the parotid gland has a lobed structure.

Features

Blood supply of the gland is carried out by the parotid branches of the temporal artery. As for the venous outflow, it occurs with the help of a submandibular vein.

Parotid salivary gland: inflammation

The common name for the inflammatory processes occurring in the salivary glands is the term "sialoadenitis". Typically, such diseases occur when the infection comes along with blood or lymph, and ascending way - from the mouth. This pathological process can be purulent and serous.

Parotid salivary gland, the inflammation of which can occur for various reasons, is susceptible to mumps or mumps. If your child hurts and symmetrically swollen this paired organ, then you can safely put the above diagnosis. It should be specially noted that the complication of mumps is male infertility. This is due to the fact that the mumps virus affects both the salivary glands and the germic tissue of the testicles. For the prevention of this disease vaccination is used, which is carried out for children of preschool age.

Other diseases

Inflammation of the parotid salivary gland, the treatment of which will be presented below, may be indicative not only of epidemic parotitis. This organ is also susceptible to autoimmune diseases with the accumulation of lymphoid cells in its tissues. This disease is called Sjogren's syndrome. The cause of this disease can be viral infections in conjunction with a genetic predisposition.

The glands under consideration are also susceptible to stone sialoadenitis. For this disease is characterized by reactive inflammation and the formation of stones in the salivary duct. Such concrements inhibit the outflow of saliva, which can lead to the development of a retention cyst.

Why is it inflamed?

The causes of inflammation of the parotid salivary gland are known to all specialists. This organ is susceptible to acute viral infection. Such a disease is childish and very often occurs in the form of epidemic outbreaks in school and preschool groups.

Most often, the virus infection is transmitted by airborne droplets. Although there are often cases of domestic infection. The main age of the sick children is 5-10 years.

Timely examination of the child can save him from many problems.

It should also be noted that this disease is inherent in adults (more often men). And they carry it more heavily. Very often in adult patients there are complications in the form of infertility and testicular atrophy.

Symptoms of the disease

Now you know what the parotid salivary gland is. Inflammation (the symptoms of the disease will be presented right now) of this body should be treated immediately. How to understand that the patient is infected with mumps, or mumps? First, a strong inflammatory process leads to an increase in body temperature to 40 degrees. Such a state can be fixed for up to one week.

Also for mumps there are unpleasant sensations in the location of the parotid gland, which become more intense when trying to talk and use food.

If you look in detail at the area where the organ is located, before the auricle you can first find a small, and in time and an increased swelling.

Other signs

The main symptom of mumps, which doctors use for diagnosis, is the impaired work of both parotid glands. At the very beginning of the disease, an inflammatory increase in one organ, and then the second one, is triggered.

After the gland increases its size several times, the patient's face becomes "parotitic", that is, it expands downwards (acquires a pear-shaped form). Also the inflamed organ stretches the skin, which becomes unpleasant and shiny in appearance.

At palpation the amazed glands strongly strongly hurt. Sometimes they squeeze the ear canals and cause unpleasant sensations. By the way, such a process can worsen a patient's hearing.

In view of the fact that the outflow of saliva in the patient is disturbed, its mucosa becomes excessively dry. After a week, swelling of the parotid glands gradually decreases. Together with this, the other symptoms of the disease also come down.

In addition to the virus origin, mumps can occur due to injuries, infections and hypothermia.

Diagnosis of the disease

Now you know why there is inflammation of the parotid salivary gland. Symptoms, treatment of this disease are also presented in the materials of the article.

To diagnose such a disease, you should immediately consult a doctor. Experienced specialists diagnose immediately after examination of the patient. This is due to the fact that the symptoms of parotid inflammation are quite difficult to confuse with signs of other diseases. But in order to find the viral cause of this disease, many doctors recommend that swallows are washed from the oropharynx, and also take the secret of the organ for its subsequent analysis. By the way, blood is good for this. From this biological material can be fairly easy to isolate the virus.

Often, for diagnosis, specialists examine the patient's serum blood serum. Such an analysis also makes it possible to detect antibodies to the parotid virus.

Ultrasonography

As it was said above, only an examination by a face surgeon or a dentist is sufficient to diagnose the disease in question. But in some cases, specialists perform additional examinations to clarify the nature of the pathological process. One of these is ultrasound of soft tissue located above the salivary glands. In this case, doctors can:

• Determine the presence of a stone;
• Evaluate the nature of the pathological process (eg, diffuse or localized);
• Diagnose an inflammatory or other process in all salivary glands.

What to do if the parotid salivary gland inflamed?

Preparations that can quickly cure mumps are not available at the moment. In uncomplicated cases, treatment of this disease is symptomatic. It is aimed exclusively at preventing the development of complications.

In view of the fact that the considered disease is transmitted mainly by airborne droplets, daily wet cleaning with the use of disinfectant solutions should be included as a mandatory measure during the patient's therapy. Also, the patient is recommended to rinse the mouth with soda solutions and citric acid. Such procedures will increase salivation and contribute to the erosion of stagnant contents of the salivary glands.

In addition to all of the above, the patient needs:

• To comply with bed rest;
• Apply alcohol or warming salt compresses to the areas of inflammation;
• To pass warming physiotherapeutic procedures;
• Rinse your mouth with various antiseptics.

In severe forms of sialoadenitis, antibacterial therapy is required. Its goal is to eliminate the inflammatory process and restore the normal functioning of the gland.

To remove the tumor and improve the microcirculation of the body, the patient is often prescribed compresses using Dimexide. If after this the symptoms persist, then intramuscular injections of sulfonamide antibiotics and hyposensitizing agents are performed. Also sometimes resort to the drainage of the salivary glands. This procedure allows you to eliminate stagnant contents of the gland and remove signs of inflammation.