Saliva is essential for oral health and influences all events in the mouth. A deficiency of saliva can have devastating consequences. Therefore, it is important to have a book about the basic tissue mechanisms involved in the secretion of saliva, based on an holistic approach. With such an aim in mind, this book contains chapters covering the histological basis for secretion, electrophysiological events, electrolyte and water secretion, protein synthesis and secretion, bloodflow, capillary dynamics, myoepithelial activity, glandular permeability, hormonal influences, including the effects of diabetes, and the synthesis and secretion of IgA in man. The chapters have been written by international experts in the field, who present balanced accounts of their subjects. The secretory mechanisms described in this book have a far-reaching impact beyond the salivary field and have applicability to all forms of exocrine secretion. Salivary glands offer many advantages for experimental study of these phenomena since they can be tested more precisely than most other glands, having ducts that can readily be cannulated for assessing the secretion. As a single-source of up-to-date data, this book will benefit doctors and dentists, and anyone interested in secretory phenomena, including physiologists, biochemists and cell biologists. It not only brings together all available data on this subject, as it stands at the turn of the century, but also lays down a sound platform of knowledge on which further investigations can be based.