Purpose : When performing sonography of the submandibular space, the submandibular gland is an important anatomical landmark. The purpose of this study is to review previously taken sonograms chiefly regarding the relationship between the mass lesion and the submandibular gland.
Subjects and Method: The subjects consisted of 32 patients who underwent an operation for a submandibular space mass lesion from 1984 to 2005. A retrospective review of the sonograms was made in order to elucidate the relationship between the submandibular gland and the mass lesion in such patients.
Results and Discussion: The intensity of the submandibular gland echo demonstrated a high echogenicity in many cases of malignant lymphoma. In addition, only slight differences were observed in the echogenicity of salivary gland tumors. Regarding the positional relationship of the tumor and the submandibular gland, the pressure type was seen in 6 and the intermediate type was observed in 4 malignant lymphomas, while the continuation type was noted in 17 and the pressure type and intermediate type were found in one salivary gland tumor, respectively. As a result, the patterns of intraglandular tumors could thus be clearly distinguished from extraglandular tumors.
Conclusions: The above findings suggested that to simultaneously evaluate mass lesions and the submandibular gland, it is essential to perform an accurate diagnosis of the submandibular space.

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Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is one type of malignant tumor of the salivary glands, and mainly occurs at the parotid gland in major salivary glands and at the palate in minor salivary glands. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma occasionally arises in the jawbone. We report a case of central mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the mandible.
A 50-year-old female was referred to our hospital because of a sense of incongruity at the right retromolar region of the mandible. Radiological examination showed clear absorption. The pre-operative impression was benign tumor. In the perioperative period, a biopsy was performed, and the histopathological diagnosis was central mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the mandible, and marginal mandibulectomy was done. There is no evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis 1 year after the operation.

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A case of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue with metastasis to the lateral lingual lymph nodes is reported. The patient was a 56-year-old male with a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the right lingual margin (T3N0M0) .
Modified radical neck dissection, hemi-glossectomy, and reconstruction with antero lateral thigh were conducted in a combined manner. A solitary lesion 7mm in diameter was encountered on the lateral aspect of the genioglossus muscle upon the local excision.
Histopathologically, the mass had a lymph-node structure with small cancer nests at the margin at some distance from the primary lesion.
It is suggested that the floor of the mouth where lingual lymph nodes are present must be palpated carefully for diagnosis and treatment of cancer of the tongue during operation even if metastasis to the lateral lingual lymph nodes is not detected by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging preoperatively.

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