High resolution grey-scale sonography of normal cervical lymph nodes: Variations with regions of the neck, age and gender

This study evaluated the variation of grey-scale morphological features of normal cervical lymph nodes with age and gender. A total of 101 healthy subjects had an ultrasound examination of the neck, and 1050 cervical nodes were detected. Normal cervical nodes were commonly found in submandibular (19%), parotid (16%), upper cervical (18%) and posterior triangle (37%) regions. Submandibular and parotid nodes tended to be round, while other regional nodes were commonly oval-shaped. Echogenic hilus was commonly seen in the normal cervical nodes. Unsharp border was common in the upper neck nodes. There was no significant difference in nodal shape or incidence of echogenic hilus between males and females. Lymph nodes in females tended to have an unsharp border. There was no significant difference in the nodal shape and nodal border sharpness between different age groups. Lymph nodes in elder patients were more likely to have an echogenic hilus. This study provides baseline information of normal cervical lymph nodes, which is essential in differentiating normal nodes from pathological nodes.