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Abstract
The differential diagnosis of oral and para-oral soft tissue masses includes a diverse set of conditions ranging from infectious to neoplastic diseases. The patient usually presents with a palpable lump, which may be associated with pain and variation in size and the diagnosis of which may be established clinically, but in some cases this may be difficult. The role of the radiologist is to differentiate between benign and malignant conditions and helping to establish the diagnosis by using different imaging modalities (Ahuja et al., 2003; Al-Bayaty et al., 2003 and Turkington et al., 2005).
Different imaging techniques have been developed for diagnosing soft tissue pathology of the head and neck, including plain radiography, sialography, scintigraphy, computed tomography (CT), CT- sialography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasonography. Both CT and MRI can produce multiplanar images; CT has the disadvantage of having cumulative biological effects. MRI has been established for detection of tumors, and it provides information about morphologic characteristics. However it cannot reliably enable distinction of benign from malignant lesions in addition to its high expenses. Sialography is an invasive method that is associated with complications such as infection, bleeding and side effects from contrast material. It is contraindicated in patients with an acute infection (Shimizu et al., 1999; Yusa et al., 1999; J?ger et al.,
2000 and Bodner et al., 2002).
Diagnostic ultrasonography has been used as an imaging technology since 1950.Developments in computer technology have