A case of primitive floor of the mouth paraganglioma in a child: An embryological theory unifying viscerocranium appended paragangliomas

Background. Paragangliomas are unusual tumors in the head and neck originat ing from the paraganglia or glomus cells of neural crest origin. Methods. We describe the first case of a primitive paraganglioma of the flo or of the mouth presenting in childhood. Results. Complete surgical removal was performed after embolization of the left lingual artery. There was no evidence of either persistent or recurren t disease 5 years after surgery. The embryologic and anatomic origins of he ad and neck paragangliomas are reviewed. Conclusions. An embryologic theory based on the common neural crest origin and migration pathways of both autonomic viscerocranium appended ganglias a nd paragangliomas is proposed that unifies the topographically heterogeneou s group of viscerocranium-appended paragangliomas. (C) 2001 John Wiley & So ns, Inc.