Saliva

We generally consider the flow of saliva as a sign of appetite. But in this patient, whose mouth zone was so markedly in the service of his sexuality, such a flow was an accompanying symptom of a sexual excitement occurring during sleep.

Abraham advances the central psychoanalytic claim that in patients with intense oral fixation, salivation functions as a libidinal discharge rather than a nutritive signal, constituting the oral equivalent of nocturnal emission.

Abraham, Karl, Selected Papers on Psychoanalysis, 1927thesis

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Other bodily fluids are symbolically connected with 'the ntoro element in man,' such as saliva; and water is sprayed from the mouth of the Ashanti king, during rites associated with the Bosommuru river, accompanied by the words: 'Life to me, and may this nation prosper.'

Turner situates saliva within a white-symbolic complex alongside semen, milk, and water, reading it as a ritual vehicle of life-force, fertility, and collective auspiciousness across African symbolic systems.

Victor Turner, Victor Witter Turner, The Ritual Process Structure and Anti-Structure, 1966thesis

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Already saliva begins to form in your mouth, and your viscera gently gurgle. You bring the apple to your mouth, open your jaws and take a powerful bite. As you start to chew, saliva flows copiously from your glands.

Levine uses the involuntary formation of saliva as a phenomenological demonstration of the body's pre-reflective engagement with the world, anchoring his somatic approach to trauma in the primacy of organismic aliveness.

Levine, Peter A., In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, 2010supporting

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the mere taking on of a dominant versus a submissive body posture has been shown to cause changes not only in experiencing the self, but also in testosterone levels in saliva and risk-taking behavior after the intervention

Koch cites salivary testosterone measurement as empirical evidence that bodily posture directly mediates hormonal and affective states, supporting the embodiment thesis in arts therapies research.

Koch, Sabine C., Embodied arts therapies, 2011supporting

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F1 collected saliva into Salivette tubes (Sarstedt, Nümbrecht, Germany) at awakening and bedtime.

Yehuda's epigenetic study employs saliva collection as a non-invasive bioassay for cortisol measurement in intergenerational PTSD research, treating saliva purely as a biological specimen rather than a symbolically charged substance.

Yehuda, Rachel, Holocaust Exposure Induced Intergenerational Effects on FKBP5 Methylation, 2015aside

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Saliva samples Ovulation test Mid-luteal phase: Faster RT, attention was allocated earlier to key regions of presented stimuli

Wynchank's review records saliva sampling as a phase-verification method for hormonal fluctuation studies in ADHD and cognitive research, with no symbolic or depth-psychological significance attributed to the fluid itself.

Wynchank, Dora, Menstrual Cycle-Related Hormonal Fluctuations in ADHD: Effect on Cognitive Functioning—A Narrative Review, 2025aside

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