Sublingual gland: MR features of normal and diseased states

OBJECTIVE, We describe the MR features of the sublingual gland in normal an d diseased states. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. We used MR imaging to assess age-related changes in s ize and signal intensity of normal sublingual glands in 60 control subjects . The MR features of sublingual glands were also studied in 70 patients wit h cancer, cellulitis of the sublingual space, Sjogren's syndrome, or ranula . RESULTS. MR imaging efficiently revealed normal sublingual glands. On T1-we ighted images, the MR signal intensity of the sublingual gland was lower th an that of the surrounding fat but higher than that of muscle. The sublingu al glands showed age-related decreases in size, with approximately 25% of t he thickness present in the second decade of life being lost by the seventh decade. T1-weighted signal intensity of the parotid gland increased with a ge, but the signal intensity of the sublingual and submandibular glands did not. T1-weighted signal intensify of carcinomas in and near the sublingual space was lower than that of the sublingual glands, but T2-weighted signal intensity of carcinomas exceeded that of the glands. Gadolinium enhancemen t occasionally diminished the contrast between invading carcinomas and the glands. T1-weighted MR imaging showed that sublingual glands affected by Sj ogren's syndrome exhibit features analogous to those of the other major sal ivary glands; however, the sublingual glands seemed to be less severely inv olved overall in this syndrome than the other major glands. We found that u sing fat suppression and short inversion time inversion recovery may be use ful for assessment of sialadenitis of the gland. CONCLUSION. MR imaging is useful in depicting normal and diseased states of the sublingual gland.