A neck mass or neck lump is an ambiguous mass found in the neck area. There are many different possible causes,
including congenital conditions like branchial anomalies and
thyroglossal duct cysts.
Workup
Workup of a neck mass includes a
medical history
The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either to the patient or to other peo ...
and a
physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally consists of a series of questions about the pati ...
, where important characteristics are location, size, shape, consistency, tenderness, mobility, and color.
[ This topic last updated: Dec 04, 2017.]
When this is not conclusive, further workup includes:
*
Blood tests
*
Medical imaging:
Contrast CT
Contrast CT, or contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT), is X-ray computed tomography (CT) using radiocontrast. Radiocontrasts for X-ray CT are generally iodine-based types. This is useful to highlight structures such as blood vessels that ...
is generally the initial study of choice for adults.
[ ]Medical ultrasound
Medical ultrasound includes diagnostic techniques (mainly imaging techniques) using ultrasound, as well as therapeutic applications of ultrasound. In diagnosis, it is used to create an image of internal body structures such as tendons, mu ...
of the neck is useful in children because it avoids the radiation dose of CT.[
In some cases, ]fine needle aspiration
Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is a diagnostic procedure used to investigate lumps or masses. In this technique, a thin (23–25 gauge (0.52 to 0.64 mm outer diameter)), hollow needle is inserted into the mass for sampling of cells that, aft ...
may assist in the diagnosis.
See also
* Cervical lymphadenopathy
References
External links
Human head and neck
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