Esophageal submucosal glands are compound tubulo-alveolar glands. Some serous cells are present. These glands are more numerous in the upper third of the esophagus.[2] They secrete acid mucin for lubrication.[citation needed]
Esophageal cardiac glands- mucous glands located near the cardiac orifice (esophago-gastric junction) in the lamina propria mucosae. They secrete neutral mucin[2] that protects the esophagus from acidic gastric juices. They are simple tubular or branched tubular glands.
There are also mucous glands present at the pharyngo-esophageal junction in the lamina propria mucosae. These are simple tubular or branched tubular glands.[2]
The size of the esophageal gland of the scaly-foot gastropodChrysomallon squamiferum (family Peltospiridae within Neomphalina) is about two orders of magnitude over the usual size.[4] The scaly-foot gastropod houses endosymbiotic bacteria in the esophageal gland.[4]Chrysomallon squamiferum was thought to be the only species of Peltospiridae, that has an enlarged esophageal gland, but later it was shown that both species Gigantopelta the gland also enlarged.[5] In other peltospirids, the posterior portion of the oesophagus forms a pair of blind mid-oesophageal pouches or gutters extending only to the anterior end of the foot (Rhynchopelta, Peltospira, Nodopelta, Echinopelta, Pachydermia).[4] The same situation is in Melanodrymia within the family Melanodrymiidae.[4]Bathyphytophilidae and Lepetellidae are also known to have enlarged esophageal pouches, however, though not to the extent of Chrysomallon.[4] Both are known to house endosymbiotic bacteria, in the case of bathyphytophilids most likely also in the esophageal glands but in the lepetellids the endosymbionts are spread in the hemocoel.[4]
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 1146 of the 20th edition ofGray's Anatomy(1918).
This article incorporates Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) text from the reference[4]
^Abdulnour-Nakhoul, Solange; Nakhoul, Nazih L.; Wheeler, Scott A.; Wang, Paul; Swenson, Eric R.; Orlando, Roy C. (April 2005). "HCO 3 − secretion in the esophageal submucosal glands". American Journal of Physiology. Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. 288 (4): G736–G744. doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00055.2004.
^ abcNemeskeri, Agnes. Human Histology. Budapest: Apathy Istvan Foundation, Semmelweis University Budapest, Department of Human Morphology and Developmental Biology. p. 16.