Myxoglobulosis in oral extravasation mucocele: an entity?

Myxoglobulosis is a recognized variant of mucocele of the vermiform appendix. Myxoglobulosis has recently been reported in extravasation mucocele of the oral cavity. This morphological study was carried out to identify the prevalence and possible pathogenesis of this unusual feature.

A retrospective review of archival material diagnosed as oral cavity mucocele was undertaken. This covered a period of 32 months and consisted of 76 cases. In accordance with the proposed traumatic origin of extravasation mucocele, histological changes were classified on the basis of mucin extravasation and cyst formation. Globular structures, as described in the reports of myxoglobulosis, were looked for, as were changes that could be ascribed to their formation.

Globular structures were noted in 22 (31%) of 71 cases of extravasation mucocele. They were present within cysts (11 samples) and in extraluminal connective tissue in the rest. They appeared to originate from alterations in connective tissue collagen following mucin extravasation. Their structure is different from that described in appendicial mucocele. When observed, they are best regarded as part of the normal sequence in the formation of oral cavity extravasation mucocele, without attaching special importance to them.