Chievitz' juxtaparotid organ, free from cancer

Up to the half of twentieth century, Chievitz organ was considered an embryonal organ, disappearing with growth. But Zenker, in 1953, demonstrated the existence of this organ in adult life, too4.

In this article we review the embryology, the macroscopic and microscopic anatomy, the ultrastructure, the functional significance and the pathology of the Chievitz'Juxtaparotid Organ (CJO). The CJO is not a macroscopic apparent organ, but it looks like a nerve. The CJO takes connections with buccinator muscle, at the level of the parotid duct, and the medial pterygoid muscle. The cell parenchyma is enveloped by the connective tissue, that is divided into three layers15, 16: the inner layer -"stratum fibrosum internum"-, composed of collagenous and elastic microfibrils; the middle layer - "stratum nervosum" - containing a lamellar inner core and Ruffini SNF5; the external layer - "stratum fibrosum externum", that is a collagen capsule. The parenchymal cells show a rich enzyme activity. The parenchymal cells may play the same role as glomus cells of the 1st type and Merkel cells20, 21. When a surgical resection is performed for an oral carcinoma, the CJO may be present in the specimen25. The CJO may be wrongly diagnosed as perineural invasion by carcinoma26, 27, 28.

We report that Chievitz' organ is the only organ in which the cancer does not occur.

Chievitz' organ, Juxtaoral organ, Parotid gland.