Why is spit slippery? Tiny gland cells under your tongue and jaw fill up with slime and pour it into your mouth, so food slides down easily.
Drag to turn it around. Use the buttons to zoom in and try things from the lessons.
The 3D model can't load right now. Check your internet connection, or try a different web browser.
You have salivary glands under your tongue and along your jaw. Inside them, cells sit in little round pockets, like the seeds packed in a pomegranate.
Mucous acinar cells look pale and bubbly. That's because they are stuffed with drops of mucus, a slippery slime. Their nucleus gets squished flat at the bottom of the cell.
When you eat, these cells pour their slime into tiny tubes that carry spit into your mouth.
Chew a plain cracker slowly. Notice how it turns into a soft, slippery lump that is easy to swallow. That's the slime at work! Then press Make slime on the 3D model.
Your salivary glands make spit all day long. Most people make about a liter of it every day!