Iron deposits in the human labial minor salivary glands: a postmortem study

Iron deposits in the human labial minor salivary glands were examined in a series of 195 postmortem subjects. Iron deposits (hemosiderin granules) were found in 7 subjects (3.6%), and the major types of illness in these cases were liver cirrhosis with or without hepatoma, aplastic anemia and acute myelogenous leukemia. Three out of 7 subjects had a history of blood transfusion. Considerable quantities of hemosiderin granules were deposited within the cytoplasm of the acinar and ductal epithelial cells, and hemosiderin-laden cells were scattered in the interstitial connective tissue.