The parotid duct, also known as Stensen's duct, is the route that saliva

Saliva

Saliva , referred to in various contexts as spit, spittle, drivel, drool, or slobber, is the watery substance produced in the mouths of humans and most other animals. Saliva is a component of oral fluid. In mammals, saliva is produced in and secreted from the three pairs of major salivary glands,...

 takes from the parotid gland

Parotid gland

The paired parotid glands are the largest of the salivary glands. They are each found wrapped around the mandibular ramus, and secrete saliva through Stensen's ducts into the oral cavity, to facilitate mastication and swallowing and to begin the digestion of starches.-Location:The parotid glands...

 into the mouth.

It passes through the buccal fat

Buccal fat pad

The buccal fat pad is one of several encapsulated fat masses in the cheek. It is a deep fat pad located on either side of the face between the buccinator muscle and several more superficial muscles...

, buccopharyngeal fascia, and buccinator muscle

Buccinator muscle

The buccinator is a thin quadrilateral muscle, occupying the interval between the maxilla and the mandible at the side of the face.-Action:Its purpose is to pull back the angle of the mouth and to flatten the cheek area, which aids in holding the cheek to the teeth during chewing.It aids whistling...

 then opens into the vestibule of the mouth next to the maxillary second molar tooth. The buccinator acts as a valve that prevents inflation of the duct during blowing. Running along with the duct superiorly is the transverse facial artery

Transverse facial artery

The transverse facial artery is an artery that branches from the superficial temporal artery and runs across the face.-Course:The transverse facial artery is given off from the superficial temporal artery before that vessel leaves the parotid gland; running forward through the substance of the...

 and upper buccal nerve

Buccal nerve

The buccal nerve is a nerve in the face. It is a branch of the mandibular nerve and transmits sensory information from skin over the buccal membrane and from the second and third molar teeth.-Course:It courses between the two heads of the lateral pterygoid muscle, underneath...

; running along with the duct inferiorly is the lower buccal nerve.

Pathology

Blockage, whether caused by salivary duct stones or external compression, may cause pain and swelling of the parotid gland (parotitis

Parotitis

Parotitis is an inflammation of one or both parotid glands, the major salivary glands located on either side of the face, in humans. The parotid gland is the salivary gland most commonly affected by inflammation.-Infectious parotitis:...

).

Eponym

It is named after Niels Stensen

Nicolas Steno

Nicolas Steno |Latinized]] to Nicolaus Steno -gen. Nicolai Stenonis-, Italian Niccolo' Stenone) was a Danish pioneer in both anatomy and geology. Already in 1659 he decided not to accept anything simply written in a book, instead resolving to do research himself. He is considered the father of...

 (1638–1686), a Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 anatomist

Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

credited with its discovery.

External links

• Diagram at MSU - Parotid duct injuries