Sonography of the Parotid Gland

The purpose of this article is to acquaint the sonog-rapher with the parotid gland anatomy, basic landmarks, and methods of sonographic examination. Pathologic conditions and their characteristic appearances will be reviewed, along with baseline criteria for evaluation of mass lesions. Key words: parotid, sonography, salivary glands, Warthin’s tumor, salivary carcinoma, sialolithiasis. Sonography of the parotid gland has been previously published in the literature. However, there is a minimum of information in the textbooks to guide the sonographer with the basic practice and performance of the examination. This article will review the parotid anatomy and demonstrate the basic landmarks for parotid imaging. Various imaging techniques using high-resolution real-time scanning will be described as well as presentation of various clinical studies