Congenital cervical salivary fistula.

A study of 35 lesions diagnosed as branchial cleft sinuses or fistulas identified a homogeneous subgroup characterized by ectopic salivary tissue, draining serous or mucoid fluid through a short sinus tract to the base of the neck anteriorly. These lesions should more properly be called congenital cervical salivary fistulas, since they may not arise from the branchial apparatus but rather from the embryonic placodal duct.