Head and Neck Diagnostic Imaging 2026: A Space-Based Reference to Lesion Localization, Tumor Staging, with Perineural Spread Mapping for Neuroradiologists

Head and Neck Diagnostic Imaging 2026 teaches a space-based approach to one of radiology's most anatomy-dense fields. Built for neuroradiologists, radiology residents, fellows, and head and neck imaging teams, it connects CT, MRI, PET/CT, ultrasound, CTA, MRA, and temporal bone protocols to the decisions that determine lesion localization, tumor staging, perineural spread mapping, nodal classification, trauma assessment, and post-treatment surveillance. The organizing method is anatomic: identify the epicenter, read displacement, follow fascial planes and skull-base foramina, and convert the image into management-facing report language.- Localize suprahyoid and infrahyoid lesions - using parapharyngeal fat displacement, carotid-space relationships, masticator-space invasion, and visceral-space anatomy to preserve the site of origin.- Stage mucosal primary tumors - mapping nasopharynx, oropharynx, oral cavity, hypopharynx, larynx, sinonasal cavity, skull base, orbit, temporal bone, salivary glands, and thyroid disease by the boundaries that change care.- Report nodal disease with precision - naming cervical levels, retropharyngeal nodes, central compartment nodes, morphology, laterality, and extranodal extension.- Trace perineural spread - following CN V, VII, IX, X, XI, and XII through foramina, ganglia, skull-base compartments, and denervation patterns.- Separate infection, trauma, and vascular lesions - from odontogenic abscess pathways and laryngeal trauma to AVMs, venous malformations, lymphatic malformations, and paragangliomas.- Interpret the treated neck - distinguishing flap anatomy, radiation edema, fibrosis, chondronecrosis, osteoradionecrosis, PET/CT pitfalls, nodal recurrence, and perineural recurrence.- Build integrated reports - translating lesion epicenter, invasion, nodal disease, nerve routes, treatment response, and recurrence into language for ENT, oncology, pathology, and surgery.Use this reference to turn complex head and neck imaging into reports that localize disease, stage it clearly, and guide the next clinical decision.