The salivary glands are part of the digestive system. Their function, as their name indicates, is to produce saliva. The salivary glands are of the exocrine type because they excrete saliva. Saliva is used to moisten the mucous membranes and to ensure the first stage of digestion. It is essentially composed of water (99%), organic compounds like glucose or urea, inorganic compounds like ions and digestive enzymes (amylase, lipase, lysozyme). Saliva has another role than the one involved in digestion, it has an antiseptic action that helps to protect teeth from cavities. Man has 6 salivary glands, three on each side of the mouth. There are the parotid glands (at the back of the mouth) which secrete the largest volume of saliva, the submaxillary glands (under the angle of the mandible) which pour the saliva through Wharton's canal under the front of the tongue and the sublingual glands.