sites of neck swelling
Last reviewed 01/2018
- masses in the neck may be superficial or deep to the deep cervical fascia.
- of those which are deep to the fascia the masses may be derived from:
( see links below)
- midline, unpaired structures
- lateral, paired structures
- the following points are important when arriving at a diagnosis
- until proved otherwise, an adult with a lump in the lateral neck has cancer (1)
- not all cystic masses in the neck are benign
(1)
- cystic lateral neck masses in adults may be metastatic squamous carcinoma with cystic degeneration
Reference:
neck swellings derived from unpaired midline structures