Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 18, 2025

Dissection and Immunostaining of Larval Salivary Glands from Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes
Published on: September 30, 2021
Detailed ultrastructure of the Hirudo (Annelida: Hirudinea) salivary gland
Naim Saglam1, Ralph Saunders2, Daniel H Shain2
1Department of Aquaculture and Fish Diseases, Fisheries Faculty, Firat University, 23119, Elazig, Turkey.
Abstract:
Medical leeches have been widely used in medical applications and treatments for millennia. Studies on the salivary glands of blood-sucking leeches have focused on their bioactive secretions and mechanisms of action, with little attention to ultrastructure. In this study, we examined dissected embryonic and adult Hirudo verbana salivary glands by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Gland cells of embryos were physically separated while adults displayed highly developed cell bunches in which each cell was connected to others by fine channels. Channels from each bunch combined to form a larger canal that opened to the jaw. Secreted material from these glands prevent blood from clotting and allow the adult to feed while sucking blood.
Related Concept Videos
Salivary Glands and Saliva
Exocrine Glands: Unicellular and Multicellular Glands
Exocrine Glands: Types of Secretions
Serous glands produce watery secretions rich in digestive enzymes and proteins. The constituent cells of the serous gland have centrally located nuclei and eosinophilic secretory granules in the cytoplasm. The parotid gland is an example of a serous gland. It secretes saliva, which contains enzymes, such as lipases and...
Exocrine Glands: Methods of Secretion
Merocrine Secretion
Merocrine secretion is the most common type of exocrine secretion. The secretions are enclosed in vesicles and moved to the cell's apical surface, where the contents are released by exocytosis. For example, mucous, a watery secretion rich in the glycoprotein mucin, is a merocrine secretion. The eccrine...
Accessory Glands of the Male Reproductive System
The epididymis is a small, comma-shaped organ located at the back of each testicle. The epididymis can be divided into three main parts: the head, body, and tail. The head of the epididymis...
Osmoregulation in Insects

