Sublingual Salivary Gland Abnormalities

The sublingual salivary gland (SLSG), because of its superficial location in the floor of the mouth, is susceptible to trauma initiated by an intraorally introduced foreign object or during the performance of adjacent surgery. Trauma to one of the many ducts possessed by this gland may result in salivary leakage. The escaping saliva accumulates and results in the cyst-like ranula. The ranula anatomically manifests itself in different oro-cervical areas. This varied anatomic location of the ranula mandates different surgical therapeutic approaches. In this chapter attention is also called to the anatomic abnormalities that the SLSG occasionally displays.