MEDICAL BAG

SALIVA GLAND SURPRISE

Medical researchers in the Netherlands have made a surprise anatomical discovery, finding what appears to be a pair of salivary glands hidden inside the human head, somehow overlooked by scientists for centuries.

The ‘unknown entity’ was discovered accidentally when doctors were using an advanced type of scan called PSMA (prostate-specific membrane antigen) PET/CT (positron emission tomography/computer tomography) to examine prostate cancer patients. When used in conjunction with radioactive glucose injections, this diagnostic tool identifies tumours. However, in this case it highlighted something quite unexpected, nestled in the rear of the nasopharynx (the upper part of the throat, behind the nose) close to the centre of the head.

“People have three sets of large salivary glands, but not there,” explained