A NUMBER of studies have been carried out on salivary properties in relation to dental disease, but much of their value is lost as neither the complex nature of saliva in respect to its basic properties nor the actual nature of the physical properties themselves has been fully realized, and in many of them, the methods of collection and treatment of test samples are not given.Saliva is not a true or Newtonian fluid but possesses properties exhibited by colloidal suspensions and pseudoplastics. True solutions possess only one property of flow, viscosity. The presence of colloidal suspension, however, profoundly alters the properties of the material in which it is suspended and may give rise to properties of flow such as stickiness, adhesiveness, and elasticity. In saliva there are many molecules of various size, some in solution and some in suspension. The interaction of their internal forces results in varied behavior when the saliva is placed under pressure. The actual value of each property varies with the conditions under which the fluid exists and, therefore, when studying the physical properties of nontrue fluids, such as saliva, it is particularly important to know the conditions under which the physical properties are measured.In spite of the fact that the physical properties of saliva are probably dependent upon the mucin and protein content, it does not seem that a correlated study of the physical properties and the mucin content has been carried out nor has a method for measuring the mucin content of the saliva been established. This paper reports parallel investigations which have been carried out to determine the most practical methods of measuring salivary mucin and the relationship between the mucin content and some measurable physical properties of saliva.
METHODS OF MEASURING SOME OF THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SALIVATo measure the properties of saliva, it was necessary to have apparatus capable of being used in a small volume of fluid (1 to 2 ml.), easily cleaned, and quick to use. Various standard types of equipment were tested, but it was found necessary in several instances to devise apparatus for use with saliva. This paper is based on a portion of a thesis submitted to the University of London, England, in support of the senior author's candidature for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
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