Imaging findings of vascular lesions in the head and neck

Abstract

Vascular lesions of the head and neck include vascular neoplasms, vascular malformations, and hypervascular lesions, derived from nonvascular soft-tissue elements. We retrospectively evaluated magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography images of vascular lesions located in the head and neck. Twelve patients (seven males, five females) aged 1–68 years (mean age, 35.25 years) were included in this study. Most of the vascular lesions in our study were histologically diagnosed. The lesions were as follows: a hemangioma located in the parotid space (n=1); a hemangioendothelioma located in the parotid space (n=1); a hemangiopericytoma located in the larynx (n=1); a juvenile angiofibroma located in the nasopharynx (n=1); a glomus tumor located in the carotid bifurcation (n=1); venous malformations located in the parapharyngeal space, the pterygoid area, the orbital space, and the larynx (n=4); lymphatic malformations located in the parotid space and the supraclavicular area (n=2); and an arteriovenous malformation located in the infratemporal fossa (n=1). We present rare vascular lesions of the head and neck, which have typical radiological findings.