Experimental salivary mucoceles in cat. A histochemical study.

Ductal ligation of the sublingual gland induced mucocele formation in a high percentage of cats. Extravasated mucus was associated with all sublingual glands up to 20 days after ligation, and extravasation mucoceles were associated with 12 out of 27 sublingual glands between 7 and 365 days after ligation. Enzyme-histochemic examination revealed that the extravasated mucus induced a migration of macrophages and a fibroblastic reaction. It is thought that if these reactions are sufficiently intense in the early days after ligation, then continued spread of extravasated mucus and mucocele formation does not occur; however, if the extravasation is too great to be contained, a mucocele forms in which a balance develops between extravasation of mucus and its removal. Possibly the numerous macrophages in the mucoceles are involved in degrading mucus and facilitating its removal.