Journal of Cytology & Histology

Are Demilunes in Mixed Salivary Glands Real or Fixation Artifacts? A Critique

Abstract

Bernard Tandler

Demilunes have historically been considered to be integral components of the secretory tree of mixed salivary glands. Based on preservation of rat sublingual glands by rapid freezing and freeze-substitution fixation, Yamashina et al. have advanced the notion that serous demilunes are artifactual products of chemical fixation, that swollen mucous cells cause a relocation of serous cells to the endpiece periphery. This concept has been uncritically accepted by several authors of histology textbooks. This note presents a compendium of observations and unanswered questions that render this proposition untenable.