A 49-year-old asymptomatic male patient was referred to a private clinic in order to undergo routine panoramic radiography. Results showed an oval-shaped, radiolucent area of cystic aspect and regular, well-defined cortical outline; its longest axis was placed horizontally in the left hemimandible. This lithic area, located under the lower left third molar, was anterior to the mandibular angle, and reached the border of the mandible, which showed thinner than normal width due to the presence of the bone defect. The apparent unity of the upper contour of the lesion and the upper wall of the mandibular canal gave them a thicker than normal appearance. The fact that the lower wall of the mandibular canal was visible within the radiolucent area showed that there could be a neighboring relationship, but not an involvement, of the inferior alveolar nerve ().\nAs a hard buccal protuberance was perceived on palpation, a CT was performed. The coronal view in the CT scan showed that there had been a distention of the mandibular buccal cortex and that glandular tissue had been spreading into the bone defect. A further coronal view revealed the buccal location of the mandibular canal, which was preserved (Figures and ).\nA previous scintigraphy revealed an inflammatory condition associated with an obstructive process involving the submandibular glands, particularly on the left side ().
The asymptomatic patient, a 60-year-old man, was referred to a radiology clinic to undergo examination for the purpose of implant planning. The panoramic radiograph revealed no important alterations in the mandible (). The patient underwent multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) (Synergy Helicoidal, General Electric Company, Milwaukee, WI), with slices and intervals of 0.625 mm, field of view 15.8 cm, matrix 512 × 512, standard filter, 120 kV and 200 mA.\nThe tomographic images clearly showed multiple cavitary defects, two in the anterior region (anterior variant) and one in the posterior region (posterior variant) (Figures , , and ). Intracavitary tomographic density (Hounsfield units) suggested glandular tissue in the anterior defects and fat in the posterior defect.