Abstract
Histochemical studies of armadillo salivary glands reveal mucous acini as the predominant secretory unit of the submaxillary and parotid glands. The acidic carbohydrate moiety of the salivary mucin is mostly sialic acid since Vibrio cholera neuraminidase (sialidase) markedly reduces the alcian blue reaction in the acinar cells. Morphologically, the acini of the submaxillary gland resemble the long mucous tubules of carnivore zygomatic glands whereas the parotid gland corresponds more closely to the seromucous classification. In the submaxillary gland specialized afferent ducts terminate in a storage organ called the salivary bladder. Contents of the bladder consist of a highly viscous sialomucin plus varying amounts of acidophilic material which is negative to the periodic acidβSchiff and alcian blue reactions. The bladder itself is composed of a wall made up of cuboidal epithelium, skeletal muscle and connective tissue and it is emptied by means of a single efferent duct which leads to the oral cavity. Parotid gland striated ducts are characterized by simple columnar epithelium containing considerable amounts of glycogen in the basal twoβthirds of the cells.