Submandibular gland sialolithiasis--sialographic and pathologic findings with evaluation using SEM and EPMA analysis.

Introduction Submandibular gland sialolithiasis is a common disease treated by oral surgery, and many case reports have been presented in the Japanese medical literature[1-31]. However, the observation of salivary stones by scanning electron microscopy and electron probe X-ray microanalysis has not been widely reported[25-31]. Recently, we treated four cases of submandibular gland sialolithiasis by removal of the submandibular gland, and examined these stones with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electron probe X-ray microanalyzer (EPMA), as well as performing standard clinical sialographic and histopathologic examinations of the extirpated glands. In the present report, we compare our findings from these various methods of examination. Report of cases The clinical aspects of the four cases are summarized in Table 1.