Morphological Boundaries of the Parotid Gland in Koreans

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the accurate location and boundary of the parotid gland in Koreans.Forty hemifaces from embalmed cadavers (mean age: 73 years) were studied. The line connecting the porion, gonion, and gnathion was used as a reference line. To measure the boundary of the parotid gland, the Frankfort horizontal line was used as the x-axis, whereas the vertical line passing through the porion was used as the y-axis. All measurements were taken from the lateral side of the face.The parotid gland has a variety of shapes: irregular, reverse triangle, and falciform. In all specimens, the boundary of the parotid gland was located 20 to 60 mm below the Frankfort horizontal line and located 10 mm anterior to the y-axis. On average, the most anterior and posterior distances of the parotid gland from the porion-gonion line were 36.4 AE 13.9 mm and 20.1 AE 10.5 mm, respectively, and the most inferior distance of the parotid gland from the gonion-gnathion line was 9.8 AE 5.8 mm. All specimens of parotid glands were found within an area 20 to 40 mm below the Frankfort horizontal line and 10 mm to the left of the y-axis. The most anterior point of the parotid gland was observed at varying locations. The maximum value of the most anterior point was 61.26 mm; it rarely exceeded the ectocanthion. The most posterior points of the parotid gland were located between the mastoid process and sternocleidomastoid muscle.These results might be useful for preventing injury to the parotid gland during facial rejuvenation procedures.