Studies on the permeability of human oral mucosa: V. The inflow of water through dehydrating oral mucosa

Abstract

The inflow of water through human oral mucosa during and after secretion block with scopolamine has been investigated in 9 young adults with healthy mucosae by analysing the changes of weight in water-saturated discs of ash-free filter paper during and after mucosal contact. Buccal and palatal mucosae both showed a continuous uptake of water from the filter paper, proportional in amount to the area of mucosa covered and to the contact period. The inflow ratio for buccal epithelium in relation to palatal epithelium was 2:1. The values in the regression equations for the inflow-time relation corresponded closely to the values for water outflow from analogous slightly dehydrated mucosae, demonstrating a ratio of 1:1 for inflow: outflow of water through oral mucosa.