Whether considered from the clinical, pathologic or therapeutic standpoint, tumors of the parotid gland present problems difficult of solution. The benign neoplasms of this organ often show malignant tendencies in that they recur frequently after simple excision, whereas the malignant tumors often show benign features in that distant metastases rarely develop. Whether recurrence in a given case is a clinical feature of a benign process or a malignant feature of a type of carcinoma in which a tendency to widespread metastases is practically absent is not always easily decided. The composition of the majority of these new growths as seen through the microscope is likewise difficult of interpretation. Whether these tumors are truly mixed, with both connective tissue components and epithelial elements taking part in the neoplastic process, is by no means clear from a perusal of the literature. Authors differ in placing the responsibility for the new growth on