Imaging of the head and neck

Imaging is increasingly being used in the evaluation of patients presenting with a neck mass or with a ‘hot’ neck and has an established role in the staging of head and neck cancer. Plain radiographs have a very limited role and the workhorses of neck imaging are ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging with an increased demand, more recently, for positron emission tomography-CT. Contrast studies, videofluoroscopy, angiography and nuclear medicine have a limited but important role in selected cases. This article will discuss the role of some of these imaging modalities in evaluating the soft tissues of the neck.