Health professionals are more and more aware of the importance of saliva for oral health and well-being. As saliva secretion is steadily compromised with advancing age, it becomes a factor of concern in societies with an aging population, especially with a growing number of people who keep their own teeth. The numerous functions of saliva, like antimicrobial activity, lubrication, wound healing and its role in taste experience are only truly recognized when saliva secretion is hampered. In medical diagnostics, saliva shows its value as a safe and economical alternative to blood. This publication provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in salivary research by some of the world’s leading experts in the field. Chapters deal with various aspects: anatomy and physiology, e.g. regeneration of salivary glands, saliva functions, e.g. its protective and rheological properties, and diagnostics and disorders, e.g. xerostomia and hypersalivation. This book is not only recommended to basic scientists working in the field of oral biology, but also to dental students, dentists and health professionals who want to know more about one of the most underestimated bodily fluids.

Salivary Diagnostics surveys one of the most exciting areas of research in oral biology. Regarded as the mirror of the body, saliva has immense potential to yield real clinical improvements in our ability to diagnose, and hence treat, oral and systemic conditions. The composition of saliva and other oral fluids reflects the tissue fluid levels of therapeutic, hormonal, and immunological molecules, as well as the presence of markers for systemic and oral disease.

This second volume of Defining Physiology: Principles, Themes, Concepts. continues on the same format as the first. In this new release, a selection of 44 essential topics in each major organ system is defined, then major themes, concept and principles surrounding these words in their physiologic scenarios are elaborated. For each keyword, a question is posed at the end of the text to test for a better understanding of the associated physiology of nervous and gastrointestinal systems. This book presents an easy reference guide for those just starting out in the area of physiology and for those who are interested in clear and succinct definitions of key terms.

This book reviews the progress made in salivary diagnostics during the past two decades and identifies the likely direction of future endeavors. After an introductory section describing the histological and anatomical features of the salivary glands and salivary function, salivary collection devices and diagnostic platforms are reviewed. The field of “salivaomics” is then considered in detail, covering, for example, proteomics, the peptidome, DNA and RNA analysis, biomarkers, and methods for biomarker discovery. Salivary diagnostics for oral and systemic diseases are thoroughly discussed, and the role of salivary gland tissue engineering for future diagnostics is explored. The book closes by considering legal issues and barriers to salivary diagnostic development. Advances in Salivary Diagnostics will be an informative and stimulating reference for both practitioners and students.

The secretions of the exocrine pancreas provide for digestion of a meal into components that are then available for processing and absorption by the intestinal epithelium. Without the exocrine pancreas, malabsorption and malnutrition result. This chapter describes the cellular participants responsible for the secretion of digestive enzymes and fluid that in combination provide a pancreatic secretion that accomplishes the digestive functions of the gland. Key cellular participants, the acinar cell and the duct cell, are responsible for digestive enzyme and fluid secretion, respectively, of the exocrine pancreas. This chapter describes the neurohumoral pathways that mediate the pancreatic response to a meal as well as details of the cellular mechanisms that are necessary for the organ responses, including protein synthesis and transport and ion transports, and the regulation of these responses by intracellular signaling systems. Examples of pancreatic diseases resulting from dysfunction in cellular mechanisms provide emphasis of the importance of the normal physiologic mechanisms.

The only book to deal comprehensively with insect feeding was published by C. T. Brues in 1946. His Insect Dietary was an account of insect feeding habits. Since that time there has been a revolution in biology, and almost all aspects of our understanding of insect feeding have expanded to an extent and into areas that would have been unthinkable in Brues' day. Yet, our book does not replace Insect Dietary but, instead, complements it, because our aim is to bring together information on the mechanisms by which food quality and quantity are regulated. We deliberately focus attention on the feeding process; to include food-finding would have required a much larger book and would have moved the focus away from more proximate mechanisms. This book is dedicated to the late Vincent G. Dethier. As a pioneer in studying the physiological basis of animal behavior, he focused on regulation of feeding in flies and caterpillars. His work on the blowfly, together with that by his many students and co-workers, still provides the most completely described mechanism of insect feeding. The citation of his work in almost every chapter in this book illustrates the importance of his findings and ideas to our current understanding of regulation of insect feeding. The authors in this book provide many innovative and stimulating ideas typifying Dethier's approach to the study of feeding be havior.