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Neck swellings

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • swellings in the neck (1)
    • are frequently encountered among both children and adults
    • a detailed history and a thorough physical examination is necessary
      • key points in the history and examination are
        • age
        • site
        • size
        • duration of the mass
    • causes of neck swellings seen in different age groups include (1)
      • children - congenital masses, like branchial anomalies (branchial cleft cyst or sinus) and thyroglossal duct cysts (2)
      • young adults- inflammatory and infectious neck masses e.g. cervical adenitis
      • older adults - benign and malignant neoplasms (1)
    • congenital anomalies, which are more common in children, should also be considered in the differential diagnosis of neck masses in adults (1)
    • only swellings which are deep to the deep cervical fascia are specific to the neck
      • the deep cervical fascia envelopes the sternocleidomastoid muscles
      • tensing of these muscles will tend to obscure deeper masses
    • techniques for evaluating these masses include (1)
      • fine-needle aspiration and biopsy (cytology)
      • contrast-enhanced computed tomographic scanning

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