Abstract

Ajit Sangma*, Kumar Naidu and James R. Advani

Dermoid cysts are true developmental cysts, which arise from the entrapment of pluripotent ectodermal and mesodermal primordia in the embryonic lines of fusion, between the 3rd and 5th weeks of gestation. Hence, they are dysontogenic in origin, that is, they result from defective embryonic development. In the head and neck region, these ectodermal and mesodermal components get entrapped when the 1st and 2nd branchial arches of each side fuse in the midline. The entrapped tissues then undergo proliferation and cystic transformation. A case of a large sublingual dermoid cyst in a 37 year old male patient is presented which closely mimicked a plunging ranula and was successfully managed by surgical excision.