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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Cannulation of the Mouse Submandibular Salivary Gland via the Wharton's Duct
Published on: May 14, 2011
Are the patients with anatomic variation of the sublingual/Wharton's duct system predisposed to ranula formation?
Bo Zhang1, Zongfan Yang2, Ricardo M Zhang3
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital and The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, PR China.
Objective:
To evaluate ranula development according to anatomic variation of the ductal system of sublingual gland (SLG), especially the presence of Bartholin's duct.
Methods:
The anatomic variation of SLG duct was prospectively investigated and compared between 55 consecutive patients with ranulas treated by SLG excision (group 1) and another 15 consecutive patients undergoing similar surgeries for other conditions (group 2). The ductal structures of SLGs and submandibular glands (SMG) were also compared between the pediatric patients and adult patients with ranulas.
Results:
In 32 of 55 patients with ranulas (58.2%) and 1 of 15 patients without ranulas (6.7%), the SLG showed an anatomic variation of the main duct called Bartholin's duct structure (P<0.01). Seventeen of 22 (77.3%) pediatric patients with ranulas had Bartholin's ducts and 15 of 33 (45.5%) adult patients with ranulas had Bartholin's ducts (0.01
Conclusions:
Congenital anatomic variation of the ductal system of the SLG might be a possible cause of ranulas in the patients with simple ranulas, especially in pediatric patients. Surgical resection of the SLG is a better treatment choice for ranulas than other conservative treatments.
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