Sonographic diagnosis in the head and neck region: from an educational lecture presented at the 56th General Assembly and Annual Scientific Congress of the Japanese Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology.

Sonography is a simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive diagnostic modality. Although tissues behind bony structures and deep tissues are not delineated, sonography can depict superficial soft tissues very clearly. In the head and neck region, however, it has not yet been used widely, as the anatomical structures are complicated, and considerable experience is needed both to perform an examination and to make a diagnosis. To perform examinations efficiently, operators must be familiar with the sonographic system in use, and take images at standard planes. To make a correct diagnosis, operators require knowledge of the sonographic anatomy on standard planes, representative sonographic signs and artifacts, and common diseases and their typical sonographic findings. In this paper, we have explained the sonographic anatomy on standard planes, and the sonographic findings of common diseases in the oral and maxillofacial region.