‘Y’ Shaped right Parotid duct - a rare anatomical presentation

The parotid gland with two ducts is a rare anomaly and very few cases have been reported in the literature. The Present study was conducted in the postgraduate Department of Anatomy at Government Medical College Srinagar to study the variations in the pattern and number of ducts of parotid gland during routine dissection for academic purposes between 2001 -20014. Both parotid glands of 36 Indian cadavers were dissected out for routine anatomic teaching and simultaneously recording observations. In this study we also included 10 formalin preserved specimens of parotid gland. It was observed that in one of the cadavers two ducts emerged from the anterior border of right parotid gland. These ducts D1 (superior) and D2 (inferior) joined after crossing the anterior border of the masseter muscle and formed a common duct (D3) in the form of letter ‘Y’, which pierced the buccal pad of fat, buccopharngeal fascia, buccinator muscle and mucous membrane before opening inside the vestibule of mouth. This anomalous duct pattern though rare is of great academic and clinical significance in Otorhinology, Maxillofacial and Plastic surgery, where it may explain the occurrence of post traumatic/iatrogenic parotid fistulas and need for preoperative sialography during surgical procedures of this region.