Accessory digestive glands

An accessory digestive gland is a gland of the digestive system that is not a part of the digestive tract.

An example of an accessory digestive gland is the exocrine pancreas.^[1]

A closely related term is "accessory digestive organ". This can include structures that play a direct role in digestion, but are not glands, such as teeth.^[2]

Accessory organs to the alimentary canal include the salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

• The Salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, and sublingual) secrete saliva, which contains enzymes that initiate breakdown of carbohydrates.
• The liver secretes bile into the small intestine via the bile duct employing thegallbladder as a reservoir. The bile produced emulsifies fat. Apart from storing and concentrating bile and introducing it into the small intestine, the gallbladder has no other specific function.
• The pancreas secretes an isosmotic fluid containing bicarbonate ions, which helps buffer the acid concentrationchyme, and several
• enzymes, including trypsin,chymotrypsin, lipase, and pancreatic amylase, as well as nucleolytic enzymes (deoxyribonuclease and ribonuclease), into the small intestine. Both of thesesecretory organs aid in digestion.