Von Ebner's gland

Von Ebner's glands, also called Ebner's glands or gustatory glands, are exocrine glands found in the mouth. More specifically, they are serous salivary glands which reside adjacent to the moats surrounding the circumvallate and foliate papillae just anterior to the posterior third of the tongue in its submucosa, anterior to the terminal sulcus.

Human Von Ebner's gland

These glands are named after Victor von Ebner, an Austrian histologist.

Von Ebner's glands secrete lingual lipase, beginning the process of lipid hydrolysis in the mouth. These glands empty their serous secretion into the base of the moats around the foliate and circumvallate papillae. This secretion presumably flushes material from the mouth to enable the taste buds to respond rapidly to changing stimuli.

Von Ebner's glands are innervated by cranial nerve IX, the glossopharyngeal nerve.

See also

• List of distinct cell types in the adult human body

External links

• Anton Gilbert Viktor Ebner, Ritter von Rofenstein entry @ whonamedit.com
• Piludu M, Lantini MS, Cossu M, Piras M, Oppenheim FG, Helmerhorst EJ, Siqueira W, Hand AR (November 2006). "Salivary histatins in human deep posterior lingual glands (of von Ebner)". Archives of Oral Biology. 51 (11): 967–73. doi:10.1016/j.archoralbio.2006.05.011. PMID 16859632.
• synd/2602 at Who Named It?
• Histology image: 09503loa – Histology Learning System at Boston University
• Histology image: 126_05 at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
• Dental histology Archived 2007-05-05 at the Wayback Machine at University of Southern California