Lipofuscin in salivary glands in health and disease

Lipofuscin granules were observed in normal salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, and minor salivary glands). The pigment was confined mainly to the epithelial cells of the intralobular ducts, but isolated granules were also found in acinar cells and myoepithelial cells. In chronic sialadenitis pigment granules were found in the intralobular epithelial cells and in macrophages in the surrounding ionnective tissue. In benign epithelial tumors pigment granules were observed within neoplastic epithelial cells and in macrophages in the stroma, while malignant tumors displayed pigmented granules only in macrophages in the stroma.