Ranula and the sublingual salivary glands.

The term "ranula" is poorly understood and is frequently applied to a variety of cystic structures in the head and neck. Ranulas classically are cysts of salivary gland origin, usually the sublingual glands, of which two varieties are described: a simple, epithelial lined cyst resulting from ductal obstruction, and a pseudocyst without epithelial lining resulting from extravasation of saliva that dissects through the tissue planes of the neck and may appear as a neck mass. Four cases are presented that illustrate the difficulties in diagnosis; treatment consists of meticulous dissection of the thin-walled sac in continuity with the excision of the sublingual glands that are the origin of these lesions.