Approach to Masses in Head and Neck Spaces

The neck is anatomically complex and exhibits a wide range of pathologies, making the imaging diagnosis of masses in this region challenging. Organizing the neck into specific “spaces” based on fascial planes and individual contents is a helpful approach to generating a differential diagnosis. Once a mass is localized within a neck space, then specific imaging features and clinical context can be applied to narrow these different considerations. In this chapter, we will review the normal anatomy and contents of each space in the suprahyoid and infrahyoid neck and discuss the specific pathologies typically found in each space.