Parotid heterotopia with pleomorphic adenoma

We observed an unusual and clinically unsuspected pleomorphic adenoma developing in the anterior midcervical region of a young man. The tumor developed within an ectopic parotid-type salivary gland. Surgical extirpation seems to have been curative. Embryologic concepts explaining the histogenesis of ectopic salivary glands (ESGs) are explored, and the problem of their concurrence with neoplasms is addressed. An additional feature was the presence of well-developed lymph nodes within the glandular complex, a morphologic component of ESGs that has not been previously emphasized.