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But in this case, the doctors saw something completely different: An unknown organ was hiding in the back of the nasopharynx, reports sciencealert.com. “People have three large salivary glands, but not in this place,” explained Wouter Vogel, a radiation oncologist at the Netherlands Cancer Institute.
“As far as we know, the only salivary or mucous glands in the nasopharynx are microscopic in size. Approximately 1,000 small glands are evenly distributed on the mucosa. So you can imagine how surprised we were to find these glands, ”he added.
The salivary glands produce the saliva necessary for the functioning of our digestive system. There are three main salivary glands: parotid, maxillary, and sublingual. There are also about 1,000 smaller salivary glands (in the oral cavity and aerodigestive tract), but they are usually so small that they can only be seen under a microscope.
The organ discovered by W. Vogel’s team, located behind the nose, above the palate, near the middle of the human head, is much larger, it can be called the fourth large salivary gland.
“The derivative seen in the PSMA PET / CT study has other salivary gland properties,” said Matthijs Statear, an oral surgeon at the University of Amsterdam. “We call it a trumpet because of the anatomical location (above the rear axle of the trumpet).”
New glands were detected in all cases in a PSMA-PET / CT study of 100 people in the study. Examination of the two corpses (male and female) also revealed a mysterious bilateral structure and macroscopically visible ducts in the nasopharyngeal wall.
A new organ has been discovered
© Valstar et al., Radiotherapy and Oncology, 2020
“As far as we have been able to find out, this derivative has not been described before,” the scientists teach in their work. “We hypothesized that it may contain a large number of serum and mucus cells that perform the physiological function of hydrating the nasopharynx / oropharynx and helping to swallow food.”
Considering why these glands had not been discovered for so long, the researchers noted that the new derivative is in a difficult-to-access anatomical location, below the base of the skull, making it difficult to detect during endoscopy. The ducts have likely been detected in the past but are not associated with the larger glandular system to which they belong.
Furthermore, this derivative as a salivary gland could only be identified by advanced PSMA-PET / CT technology, which far exceeds techniques such as ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.
While the research team agrees that more research is needed to involve more and more diverse people, they say the discovery has shown another place to protect yourself in treating cancer patients with radiation because the salivary glands are so sensitive. to this treatment.
Preliminary data, based on a retrospective analysis of 723 patients who received radiation therapy, appear to support the conclusion that radiation exposure to a newly detected organ results in more complications in patients at a later date. This information is not only valuable to the science of oncology, but also reinforces the evidence that the mysterious derivative is the salivary glands.
“They probably discovered something important,” said Valerie Fitzhugh, a pathologist at Rutgers University who was not involved in the study. “If the information is confirmed, our attitude towards diseases in this part of the body may change.”
The findings are described in the journal Radiotherapy and Oncology.
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