title: [Diagnostic value of CT for head and neck pilomatricoma].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the CT and pathological features of head and neck pilomatricoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed the CT findings of 13 patients with head and neck pilomatricoma which were pathologically confirmed. Of them 7 patients received plain CT, 2 patients received contrast-enhancement, and 4 patients received plain CT plus contrast-enhancement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the patients presented with solitary tumors, 9 of them occurred in the parotid gland region, one in the left occipital, one in the right forehead, one in the right parietal, and another one in the left eyelid. The maximal diameter of the tumors ranged from 0.6 to 2.3 cm with a mean of 1.5 cm. All lesions were well-circumscribed, with partial attachment to the overlying skin. Most of lesions were isodense relative to adjacent skeletal muscle on non-enhanced CT scans, sand-like or nodular calcifications within the masses were showed in 8 cases, and no cystic degeneration was found. On contrast-enhanced imaging, mild to moderate homogenous enhancement was showed in 3 cases, heterogeneous moderate enhancement with patchy nonenhancing necrosis area in one case, marked enhancement in one case, and complete calcification with no enhancement in one case.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Head and neck pilomatricoma presents with certain characteristics on CT, which are useful in the clinical diagnosis and differential diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
authors.forename: Changliang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
authors.forename: Rongjuan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
authors.forename: Wanqin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China; Email: shenyuxi@mail.hf.ah.cn.
authors.forename: Yongqiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006201:Hair Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D018296:Pilomatrixoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed