Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Ultrasound-guided Botulinum Toxin-A Injections: A Method of Treating Sialorrhea
Published on: November 9, 2016
Sialolipoma of minor salivary glands
Cassiano Francisco Weege Nonaka1, Karuza Maria Alves Pereira, Pedro Paulo de Andrade Santos
1Postgraduate Program, Oral Pathology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, CEP: 59056-000, Natal, RN, Brazil.
Abstract:
Sialolipoma is a recently described histologic variant of lipoma and is characterized by well-demarcated proliferation of mature adipocytes with secondary entrapment of salivary gland elements. These tumors have been observed in both the major and minor salivary glands, with more than 20 cases being reported in the English literature. In general, the clinical presentation of sialolipomas of the minor salivary glands suggests a diagnostic hypothesis of salivary gland lesions, commonly neoplasms. In the major salivary glands, the clinical features suggest either a salivary gland neoplasm or a lipoma. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice for sialolipomas, with no reports of recurrence or malignant transformation. The present article reports 4 additional cases of sialolipoma, all of them affecting the minor salivary glands, and reviews the literature regarding clinicopathologic aspects, differential diagnosis, and therapeutic management of this recently recognized histologic variant of lipoma.
Related Concept Videos
Salivary Glands and Saliva
Exocrine Glands: Types of Secretions
Serous glands produce watery secretions rich in digestive enzymes and proteins. The constituent cells of the serous gland have centrally located nuclei and eosinophilic secretory granules in the cytoplasm. The parotid gland is an example of a serous gland. It secretes saliva, which contains enzymes, such as lipases and...
Lipid Digestion
Exocrine Glands: Methods of Secretion
Merocrine Secretion
Merocrine secretion is the most common type of exocrine secretion. The secretions are enclosed in vesicles and moved to the cell's apical surface, where the contents are released by exocytosis. For example, mucous, a watery secretion rich in the glycoprotein mucin, is a merocrine secretion. The eccrine glands...
Accessory Organs
Accessory Structures of the Skin: Sebaceous Glands
These glands that produce the oils on the skin and hair are holocrine glands. The mature...

