skip to main content
RadInfo Logo Home

Neck Mass/Adenopathy

A person with a neck mass (abnormal lump) or adenopathy (swollen lymph nodes) may have imaging tests to determine if it is a normal structure or cancer.

For neck masses that cannot be felt and are not in the parotid (salivary) gland region or thyroid, ultrasound, CT without or with intravenous (IV) contrast or MRI without and with IV contrast of the neck may all be appropriate.

For neck masses that can be felt and are not in the parotid region or the thyroid, ultrasound, CT without and with IV contrast and MRI without and with IV contrast of the neck, in addition to CT scan of the arteries and MRI of the arteries, may all be appropriate.

For neck masses in the parotid region, MRI without and with IV contrast, CT without and with IV contrast, MRI without and with IV contrast, and ultrasound of the neck and parotid or salivary glands may all be appropriate.

For children with neck masses not in the parotid region or thyroid, CT with IV contrast, MRI without and with IV contrast, and ultrasound of the neck may all be appropriate.

For more information, see the Head and Neck Cancer page.

— By Rachel Newman, BS, and Elizabeth A. Sadowski, MD. This information originally appeared in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

This page was reviewed on July 15, 2022

Sponsored By

Please note

RadiologyInfo.org is not a medical facility. Please contact your physician with specific medical questions or for a referral to a radiologist or other physician. To locate a medical imaging or radiation oncology provider in your community, you can search the ACR-accredited facilities database.

This website does not provide cost information. The costs for specific medical imaging tests, treatments and procedures may vary by geographic region. Discuss the fees associated with your prescribed procedure with your doctor, the medical facility staff and/or your insurance provider to get a better understanding of the possible charges you will incur.

Web page review process: This Web page is reviewed regularly by a physician with expertise in the medical area presented and is further reviewed by committees from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR), comprising physicians with expertise in several radiologic areas.

Outside links: For the convenience of our users, RadiologyInfo.org provides links to relevant websites. RadiologyInfo.org, RSNA and ACR are not responsible for the content contained on the web pages found at these links.