*Correspondence to: Chernet Bahru Tessema, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, USA
Received: Oct 27, 2024; Accepted: Nov 22, 2024; Published: Nov 29, 2024
Citation: Tessema CB (2024) Bilateral Ectopic Submandibular Glands in the Carotid Triangles: A Case Report with Review of Literature. J Anatomical Variation and Clinical Case Report 2:112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61309/javccr.1000112
Copyright: ©2024 Tessema CB. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
ABSTRACT
This case report presents a rare and unusual bilateral ectopic location of the submandibular glands in the carotid triangles of the infrahyoid region of the neck. Both submandibular glands were found anteromedial to the carotid sheath suspended from the floor of the mouth by their ducts and from the lingual nerves by branches to the glands. Such rare variations are crucial in diagnostic imaging, aesthetic surgery, radiation therapy, and surgical treatment of diseases comprising those of the glands. The consideration of such unusual location is of relevance in the differential diagnosis of neck mass and the decision-making process regarding approaches to the submandibular glands during various surgical procedures (trans-cervical, trans-oral, endoscopic, etc.) and in avoiding the risk of injury to adjacent neurovascular structures such as facial vessels, cervical and mandibular branches of the facial, hypoglossal, and lingual nerves.
Keywords: Ectopic; Submandibular gland; Submandibular duct; Lingual nerve; Carotid triangle
Figure 1: Illustrates the bilateral ectopic SMGs in the CT and the SMDs ascending in the SMTs to accompany the LNs to extend to the floor of the mouth deep to the MHM. The ducts and the nerves are unusually low in position and visible inferior to the lower margin of the mandible.
