Saliva

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Saliva \Sa*li"va\, n. [L.; cf. Gr. ?.] (Physiol.)
     The secretion from the salivary glands.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: In man the saliva is a more or less turbid and slighty
           viscid fluid, generally of an alkaline reaction, and is


           secreted by the parotid, submaxillary, and sublingual
           glands. In the mouth the saliva is mixed with the
           secretion from the buccal glands. The secretions from
           the individual salivary glands have their own special
           characteristics, and these are not the same in all
           animals. In man and many animals mixed saliva, i.e.,
           saliva composed of the secretions of all three of the
           salivary glands, is an important digestive fluid on
           account of the presence of the peculiar enzyme,
           ptyalin.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  saliva
       n : a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary
           glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth
           and starts the digestion of starches [syn: {spit}, {spittle}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  63 Moby Thesaurus words for "saliva":
     absorption, assimilation, bile, chyle, colostrum, digestion,
     digestive system, discharge, dribble, drivel, drool, expectoration,
     foam, froth, gastric juice, gastrointestinal tract, gleet, humor,
     ichor, ingestion, intestinal juice, lachryma, lactation,
     leukorrhea, liver, lymph, matter, milk, mouth-watering, mucor,
     mucus, pancreas, pancreatic digestion, pancreatic juice,
     peccant humor, phlegm, predigestion, ptyalism, purulence, pus,
     rheum, salivary digestion, salivary glands, salivation, sanies,
     secondary digestion, serous fluid, serum, sialagogue, slabber,
     slaver, slobber, snot, spit, spittle, sputum, suppuration, sweat,
     tear, teardrop, the whites, urine, water