[Submandibular swelling and its differential diagnosis]

The lump in the submandibular area is not too unusual. Nonmalignant swelling may be caused by mumps, sialadenitis, Sjögren syndrome, cysts and infections. Submandibular lymphadenopathy may also result from infections of teeth, upper respiratory track, sinuses and tonsils or infections mononucleosis and cut scratch disease. The neoplastic growths in the submandibular area may include in most of the case tumors of the submandibular gland, the tail of the parotid gland, the Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. However, since the greatest cause of asymmetric submandibular enlargement, especially in people elder than 40 years old is the metastatic disease, the physician should always first seek to eliminate a primary site in the head, face and mouth area. Possible origin from other parts of the body should also be ruled out. In this article we are presenting representative cases of submandibular swelling.