Lymph Node Staging in the Neck

Examination of the anatomy and pathology of the lymph nodes of the neck as seen by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows a wide variety of findings and thereby presents a challenging task for the radiologist. Patients with a broad range of clinical presentations and disease states are imaged with MRI due to its rapidly evolving improvements in spatial and contrast resolution, the reduction of artifacts with this technique, and the development of new contrast agents (van den Brekel, 2000).