The
Stafne defect (also termed
Stafne's idiopathic bone cavity,
Stafne bone cavity,
Stafne bone cyst (misnomer),
lingual mandibular salivary gland depression,
lingual mandibular cortical defect,
latent bone cyst, or
static bone cyst) is a depression of the
mandible on the lingual surface (the side nearest the
tongue). The Stafne defect is thought to be a normal anatomical variant, as the depression is created by
ectopic salivary gland tissue associated with the
submandibular gland and does not represent a
pathologic lesion as such.