Purpose: This study aimed to determine whether the normal parotid gland (PG) and submandibular gland (SMG) can be used as reference standards for normal thyroid echogenicity. Methods: In total, 1,302 consecutive patients with normal salivary glands were included in this study. The echogenicity of the SMG and PG was assessed during real-time ultrasound examinations, and the glands were categorized as hyperechogenic, isoechogenic, and hypoechogenic relative to the thyroid parenchyma in patients without diffuse thyroid disease (group 1, n=1,106) and with diffuse thyroid disease (group 2, n=196). The frequency of the echogenicity categories of the normal PG and SMG was assessed according to patients’ age. Results: In group 1, the normal PG showed isoechogenicity in 94.0% and hypoechogenicity or hyperechogenicity in 6.0%, and the normal SMG showed isoechogenicity in 73.6% and hypoechogenicity in 26.4% of patients (P<0.001). There was no significant association of the frequency of isoechoic PG with age (P=0.834); however, there was a trend for an increasing frequency of isoechoic SMG with aging (22.9%-81.4%) (P<0.001). Similar findings were found in group 2 patients without decreased thyroid echogenicity. Conclusion The normal PG was mostly isoechoic to the normal thyroid parenchyma, whereas the normal SMG showed hypoechogenicity at various frequencies according to age. The echogenicity of the normal PG can be used as an alternative reference standard for normal thyroid echogenicity; however, the normal SMG is not suitable for a reference standard when assessing thyroid nodule echogenicity in patients who have diffuse thyroid disease with decreased parenchymal echogenicity.

Purpose: The normal submandibular gland (SMG) and parotid gland (PG) are thought to have similar homogeneous ultrasound (US) hyperechogenicity; however, this has not been extensively investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether the normal SMG and PG have similar US echogenicity. Methods: We included 969 consecutive adult patients with normal salivary glands. The patients were categorized into three age groups: group 1 (19 to 29 years, n=27), group 2 (30 to 49 years, n=273), and group 3 (≥50 years, n=669). The echogenicities of the SMG and PG were prospectively evaluated by an experienced radiologist. Computed tomography (CT) attenuation in Hounsfield units (HUs) was quantitatively measured for the SMG, PG, and sternocleidomastoid muscle in 140 patients. Results: Relative to the PG, the echogenicity of the SMG was similar in 706 (73.0%) and homogeneously hypoechoic in 263 patients (27.0%). The frequency of SMG hypoechogenicity decreased with increasing age (group 1, 59.3%; group 2, 36.3%; group 3, 22.1%; P<0.001). The CT attenuation levels (in HUs) of the SMG and PG were significantly higher in patients with hypoechoic SMGs than in patients with SMG echogenicity similar to that of the PG (P<0.001). Conclusion Hypoechogenicity of the SMG was observed in more than a quarter of this sample of adults with normal salivary glands. The SMG may be inadequate as a reference standard for evaluating thyroid nodule echogenicity in patients with diffuse thyroid disease with decreased echogenicity.