The nasopalatine duct cyst (NPDC) occurs in the median of the palate, usually anterior to first molars. It often appears between the roots of the maxillary central incisors. Radiographically, it may often appear as a heart-shaped radiolucency. It is usually
asymptomatic
Asymptomatic (or clinically silent) is an adjective categorising the medical conditions (i.e., injuries or diseases) that patients carry but without experiencing their symptoms, despite an explicit diagnosis (e.g., a positive medical test).
P ...
, but may sometimes produce an elevation in the anterior portion of the palate. It was first described by Meyer in 1914.
The
median palatal cyst has recently been identified as a possible posterior version of the nasopalatine duct cyst.
Signs and symptoms
Nasopalatine duct cysts usually present as asymptomatic
palatal
The palate () is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity.
A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly sepa ...
swellings, but they may rarely be accompanied by pain and/or
purulent discharge.
Cause and diagnosis
Historically, the cause of nasopalatine duct cysts has been somewhat of an enigma. Although it was originally postulated that the cyst formed from trapped epithelial cells during embryonic fusion of the palatal bones, it is now thought that it forms from oronasal ducts present within the
incisive canals.
As a cyst, the nasopalatine duct cyst requires histological analysis for a definitive diagnosis. Radiographically, the nasopalatine cyst appears as a well-demarcated round, ovoid, or heart-shaped structure presenting in the midline of the
maxilla
In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxil ...
.
Treatment
The cysts are generally treated by
excision.
Epidemiology
The nasopalatine cyst is the most common non-odontogenic cyst of the oral cavity, at an estimated occurrence rate of 1 %.
[Daley TD, et al. Relative incidence of odontogenic tumors and oral and jaw cysts in a Canadian population. ''Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol'' 1994;77:276-280. https://radiopaedia.org/articles/incisive-canal-cyst ]
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasopalatine Cyst
Cysts of the oral and maxillofacial region