The presence of microcalculi in normal human submandibular and parotid salivary glands.

A search for microcalculi in 10 submandibular and 10 parotid glands obtained from autopsies revealed them in 8 submandibular glands in all decades from the third to the seventh, and in one parotid gland in the fourth decade. They were found in serous acinar cells, striated ductal cells, lumina and interstitium. They may form in autophagosomes in parenchymal cells and usually pass into lumina to be expelled in the saliva.