Pleomorphic adenoma of an accessory submandibular salivary gland: a rare entity.

An accessory submandibular salivary gland is a rare anatomical variant, and a tumour within one is even rarer. We describe a 54-year-old man who presented with a slowly-enlarging mass in the right submandibular region which on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) seemed to be close to, but not arising from, the right submandibular salivary gland. This was found to be a benign pleomorphic adenoma arising from an accessory submandibular salivary gland. To our knowledge it is only the second report of a pleomorphic adenoma that developed within an accessory submandibular salivary gland.