Ultrasonographic biometry in normal salivary glands

Specifications about the sizes of normal salivary glands are not available. We used ultrasonography to determine the sizes of the submandibular and parotid glands in 50 subjects, who were not suffering from diseases of the salivary glands. Volunteers were distributed equally concerning sex and age. Body weight did not differ more than 20% from ideal weight. Dimensions of the submandibular glands were: anterior-posterior length, 35 +/- 5.7 mm; paramandibular extension to gland depth, 14.3 +/- 5.7 mm; extension in frontal scanning, 33.7 +/- 5.4 mm. The parotid glands measured 46.3 +/- 7.7 mm in the axis parallel to the mandibular ramus and 37.3 +/- 5.6 mm in a transverse axis. The extensions of the parotid parenchyma were 7.4 +/- 1.7 mm lateral to the mandible and 22.8 +/- 3.6 mm dorsal to the mandible.