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Lingual nerve (LN) is one among the 3 branches of posterior division of mandibular nerve. It might get entrapped in the infratemporal fossa by lateral pterygoid muscle, pterygospinous ligament, or lateral pterygoid plate. Its entrapment in the submandibular region has not been reported yet. A unique entrapment of LN in the fused submandibular and sublingual salivary glands in a cadaver was reported. The deep parts of the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands were completely fused with each other. The LN passed through the center of the fused part. Histologically both submandibular and sublingual salivary glands had both mucous and serous acini. Though this entrapment might not cause any functional problems, it might get injured during various surgical procedures of the submandibular region.

Objective: To evaluate ranula development according to anatomic variation of the ductal system of sublingual gland (SLG), especially the presence of Bartholin's duct., Methods: The anatomic variation of SLG duct was prospectively investigated and compared between 55 consecutive patients with ranulas treated by SLG excision (group 1) and another 15 consecutive patients undergoing similar surgeries for other conditions (group 2). The ductal structures of SLGs and submandibular glands (SMG) were also compared between the pediatric patients and adult patients with ranulas., Results: In 32 of 55 patients with ranulas (58.2%) and 1 of 15 patients without ranulas (6.7%), the SLG showed an anatomic variation of the main duct called Bartholin's duct structure (P<0.01). Seventeen of 22 (77.3%) pediatric patients with ranulas had Bartholin's ducts and 15 of 33 (45.5%) adult patients with ranulas had Bartholin's ducts (0.01

Congenital agenesis of the submandibular gland is uncommon. We report dynamic sonography and CT findings of the unilateral submandibular gland agenesis associated with herniated hypertrophic sublingual gland tissue through the mylohyoid gap. The dynamic sonography examination applied at rest and during the modified Valsalva maneuver demonstrated hypertrophied sublingual gland prolapsing to the anterior part through the mylohyoid gap. This may be the first reported case describing dynamic sonography findings of this entity. CT confirmed the agenesis of the left submandibular gland and compensatory hypertrophy of the ipsilateral sublingual gland., (Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

There are very limited reports of aplasia of bilateral submandibular glands associated with bilateral sublingual gland hypertrophy. We report the case of a 13-year-old girl with bilateral submandibular gland aplasia associated with symmetrical sublingual gland hypertrophy that herniated from bilateral mylohyoid defects and presented as bilateral masses on CT and MRI images. Prolapsed bilateral sublingual gland hypertrophy should be considered in patients with bilateral submandibular masses to avoid unnecessary biopsy or surgery. We suggest that radiological evaluation of these cases should be performed before any intervention.

The congenital absence of the major salivary glands is a very infrequent disorder, in which several glands are usually involved at the same time. Sometimes this disorder can be associated with other developmental anomalies. The unilateral aplasia of the submandibular gland is an extremely rare finding with only 14 cases reported in the literature. Clinically, this kind of patients may complain of dryness of the mouth, difficulties in chewing and swallowing, severe periodontal disease or multiple caries, but usually they follow an asymptomatic course. Salivary gland aplasia can be diagnosed with a large variety of imaging techniques, which include computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MR), ultrasonography (US), sialography, or scintigraphy. In this paper we report a case of a patient referred to our department with a long term and progressive growing neck mass, who has an unilateral submandibular gland aplasia associated to an ipsilateral hypertrophy of the sublingual gland.

Aplasia of major salivary glands is very rare. Compensatory hypertrophy of the rest of the glands can result in clinico-radiological masses. We present a report of a rare case of non-syndromic bilateral submandibular gland aplasia with hypertrophied sublingual salivary tissue, the latter herniating through mylohyoid boutonnière to present as a palpable mass on the left side with corresponding CT findings. Multiplanar evaluation is emphasised by utilizing multidetector CT.

In the sublingual/submandibular gland complex (L/M complex hereafter), the submandibular gland process adjoins the sublingual gland. Therefore, it is speculated that the L/M complex in the fused state is due to excessive development of the submandibular gland process. However, we encountered a case of the L/M complex formed due to supernumerary glandular lobes (lobes A, B, and C) developing in the posterior 1/3 portion of the submandibular duct. Lobes A, B, and C showed the following macroscopic morphologies, constitutions, ducts, and histological morphologies. Lobe A was disc-shaped, and this lobe together with the major sublingual gland was wrapped with the minor sublingual gland. Lobe B was attached to lobe C, forming a cingulate lobe. Lobe B had an irregular shape and was attached to the superior area of lobe A, while lobe C was rod-shaped and attached to the posterior area of lobe B. The posterior area of lobe C was attached to the submandibular gland at the base of the submandibular duct. The excretory ducts of lobes A, B, and C joined, forming one duct, which joined the posterior 1/3 portion of the submandibular duct. The histological morphologies of lobes A, B, and C showed a predominance of serous cells over mucous cells, which was the same as the morphology of the submandibular gland. In this case, the L/M complex may have formed by the following mechanism. Supernumerary lobes A, B, and C of the submandibular gland formed in the posterior 1/3 portion of the submandibular duct, and lobe A together with the major sublingual gland was wrapped with the minor sublingual gland. Lobes B and C formed a cingulate lobe, and its posterior portion (posterior portion of lobe C) attached to the submandibular gland, resulting in a fused state.

Congenital absence of the major salivary glands is an infrequent disorder. Clinically, patients may be asymptomatic or may present with dryness of the mouth, difficulty in chewing and swallowing, and dental caries. The absence of the submandibular gland may be associated with hypertrophy of the contralateral submandibular gland. We report a case of ipsilateral sublingual hypertrophy associated with unilateral submandibular aplasia.