In the medical literature the term "ranula" is not used for one certain condition. All the different cystic tumors of the floor of the mouth are called ranula. Swelling of the submaxillary gland, swelling of the salivary ducts, retention due to stones, dermoid cyst, bursa between the muscles, all these conditions of different origins are summed up under this one term.1
Connelly2 gives a good description of the type of tumor which is termed ranula today.
Clinically, ranula is recognized as a cyst in the sublingual area, benign in character, soft and fluctuating, painless, blue to violet in color, usually unilateral and unilocular but maybe multilocular, and takes on burrowing qualities. It lies above the mylohyoid muscle and produces a swelling in the mouth but may extend around the posterior border of the muscle and produce a swelling in the submaxillary region of the neck. Its wall is extremely thin