Scientists from the Netherlands Cancer Institute have discovered previously unknown organs in the human body – the tuberous salivary glands. The research was published in the journal Radiotherapy and Oncology.
To learn more about head and neck cancer, oncologists used scans with radioactive glucose that “highlight” specific areas of the body. But when the team scanned 100 patients, they repeatedly found the same two areas of the head.
Eventually, the scientists discovered they had found a series of salivary glands located behind the nasopharynx (the upper part of the pharynx at the back of the nose). The team called the pair of organs “tubarial glands.”
The study’s authors explained that humans have three sets of major salivary glands, but not in the nasopharynx. Single salivary or mucous glands in the nasopharynx were thought to be microscopically small and evenly distributed throughout the mucosa.
With the discovery of these “tuberal glands,” oncologists now know they must avoid radiation exposure to this part of the body to avoid complications.