title: Contribution of nuclear medicine to the diagnosis and management of extracranial head and neck diseases (excluding thyroid and parathyroid).
abstract: Nuclear medicine contributes to the diagnosis and management of extracranial head and neck diseases through the physiological information it provides. In addition to thyroid and parathyroid indications, radionuclide studies, i.e., bone and 67Gallium citrate scans are helpful in diagnosing and treating head and neck malignancies. Positron emission tomography with 18F-fluorodeoxy-glucose evaluates tumor glucose metabolism before and after treatment. Triphase bone scintigraphy enables early detection of osteomyelitis of the skull base, and its management requires 67Gallium-citrate or 111Indium-WBC scintigraphies. Salivary gland scintigraphy is the only functional imaging test of salivary tissue and should be utilized more in the diagnosis of submandibular duct obstruction and in the evaluation of preserved parenchymal function after recurrent infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biophysics and Nuclear Medicine, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chisin
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Noyek
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Israel
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Witterick
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Front
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Kirsh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012466:Salivary Gland Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012886:Skull / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed
chemical_list: D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate