A macroscopic salivary gland and a potential organ or simply tubarial sero-mucinous glands?

Morpho‐functional characterization of the submucosal glands at the nasopharyngeal end of the auditory tube in humans

“…Further validation from more specific tissue markers was desirable for considering the tubal glands conglomerates as salivary. Many authors suggested the presence of myoepithelial cells in the glandular acini can be confirmatory for identifying them as salivary tissue (Narayan et al, 2021; Pushpa et al, 2021). Of note, the presence of myoepithelial cells is used as a diagnostic marker for detecting salivary tissue (Balachander et al, 2015).…”

“…Multiple authors, including anatomists, criticized the paper, alleging the claim to discover a known anatomical structure (Iwanaga et al, 2021; Narayan et al, 2021). The comments were also directed at the claims of finding a new organ and presenting insufficient evidence to prove that the nasopharyngeal tubal glands are salivary in function (Cohen Goldemberg et al, 2021; Iwanaga et al, 2021; Mudry & Jackler, 2021; Narayan et al, 2021).…”

“…Multiple authors, including anatomists, criticized the paper, alleging the claim to discover a known anatomical structure (Iwanaga et al, 2021; Narayan et al, 2021). The comments were also directed at the claims of finding a new organ and presenting insufficient evidence to prove that the nasopharyngeal tubal glands are salivary in function (Cohen Goldemberg et al, 2021; Iwanaga et al, 2021; Mudry & Jackler, 2021; Narayan et al, 2021). Critics emphasized that in the absence of key characterizing features, such as a lobular organization and hierarchical ductal system, myoepithelial cells, and salivary amylase, the nasopharyngeal conglomerates of the tubal glands cannot be recognized as the salivary glands (Cohen Goldemberg et al, 2021; Iwanaga et al, 2021; Mudry & Jackler, 2021; Narayan et al, 2021).…”

“…The comments were also directed at the claims of finding a new organ and presenting insufficient evidence to prove that the nasopharyngeal tubal glands are salivary in function (Cohen Goldemberg et al, 2021;Iwanaga et al, 2021;Mudry & Jackler, 2021;Narayan et al, 2021). Critics emphasized that in the absence of key characterizing features, such as a lobular organization and hierarchical ductal system, myoepithelial cells, and salivary amylase, the nasopharyngeal conglomerates of the tubal glands cannot be recognized as the salivary glands (Cohen Goldemberg et al, 2021;Iwanaga et al, 2021;Mudry & Jackler, 2021;Narayan et al, 2021). Valstar et al (2021b) later clarified in a collective reply to the multiple letters published against their study that the term 'organ at risk of radiotherapy' they used in the paper was mistaken for a new organ; however, the authors still insisted that they discovered a set of glands, which was previously unknown and most likely presented a part of the salivary gland system, i.e., either major or minor salivary gland.…”

“…Valstar et al (2021a) have challenged the age-old notion suggesting a different taxonomy for the nasopharyngeal tubal glands as the salivary glands-believed to be a component of the digestive system(Standring, 2021). The proposed shift in taxonomic categorization for these glands has ignited a debate with contesting views on their anatomical characterization(Cohen Goldemberg et al, 2021;Iwanaga et al, 2021;Mudry & Jackler, 2021;Narayan et al, 2021;Pushpa et al, 2021) that need to be critically examined. The results of the present study give an overview of the morpho-functional details of the nasopharyngeal submucosal tubal glands conglomerates, which provide essential insights into their appropriate taxonomic categorization.4.1 | Gross and histologyMacroscopically, we observed submucosal glandular structures around the nasopharyngeal opening of AT in all eight dissected hemisections.…”