<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The paper is an update of 2011 Standards for Ultrasound Assessment of Salivary Glands, which were developed by the Polish Ultrasound Society. We have described current ultrasound technical requirements, assessment and measurement techniques as well as guidelines for ultrasound description. We have also discussed an ultrasound image of normal salivary glands as well as the most important pathologies, such as inflammation, sialosis, collagenosis, injuries and proliferative processes, with particular emphasis on lesions indicating high risk of malignancy. In acute bacterial inflammation, the salivary glands appear as hypoechoic, enlarged or normal-sized, with increased parenchymal flow. The echogenicity is significantly increased in viral infections. Degenerative lesions may be seen in chronic inflammations. Hyperechoic deposits with acoustic shadowing can be visualized in lithiasis. Parenchymal fibrosis is a dominant feature of sialosis. Sjögren syndrome produces different pictures of salivary gland parenchymal lesions at different stages of the disease. Pleomorphic adenomas are usually hypoechoic, well-defined and polycyclic in most cases. Warthin tumor usually presents as a hypoechoic, oval-shaped lesion with anechoic cystic spaces. Malignancies are characterized by blurred outlines, irregular shape, usually heterogeneous echogenicity and pathological neovascularization. The accompanying metastatic lesions are another indicator of malignancy, however, final diagnosis should be based on biopsy findings.</p></abstract>

The paper is an update of 2011 Standards for Ultrasound Assessment of Salivary Glands, which were developed by the Polish Ultrasound Society. We have described current ultrasound technical requirements, assessment and measurement techniques as well as guidelines for ultrasound description. We have also discussed an ultrasound image of normal salivary glands as well as the most important pathologies, such as inflammation, sialosis, collagenosis, injuries and proliferative processes, with particular emphasis on lesions indicating high risk of malignancy. In acute bacterial inflammation, the salivary glands appear as hypoechoic, enlarged or normal-sized, with increased parenchymal flow. The echogenicity is significantly increased in viral infections. Degenerative lesions may be seen in chronic inflammations. Hyperechoic deposits with acoustic shadowing can be visualized in lithiasis. Parenchymal fibrosis is a dominant feature of sialosis. Sjögren syndrome produces different pictures of salivary gland parenchymal lesions at different stages of the disease. Pleomorphic adenomas are usually hypoechoic, well-defined and polycyclic in most cases. Warthin tumor usually presents as a hypoechoic, oval-shaped lesion with anechoic cystic spaces. Malignancies are characterized by blurred outlines, irregular shape, usually heterogeneous echogenicity and pathological neovascularization. The accompanying metastatic lesions are another indicator of malignancy, however, final diagnosis should be based on biopsy findings.

Standards for the assessment of salivary glands – an update

Journal of Ultrasonography

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Public License.

{"article-title":"Standards for the assessment of salivary glands \u2013 an update"}

The paper is an update of 2011 Standards for Ultrasound Assessment of Salivary Glands, which were developed by the Polish Ultrasound Society. We have described...

Standards for the assessment of salivary glands – an update

Published Online: Jun 29, 2016

Page range: 175 - 190

Received: Apr 11, 2016

Accepted: May 07, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2016.0019

Keywords
salivary glands, ultrasound, standards, parotid gland, submandibular gland

© 2016 Piotr Zajkowski et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Public License.

Standards for the assessment of salivary glands – an update

Published Online: Jun 29, 2016

Page range: 175 - 190

Received: Apr 11, 2016

Accepted: May 07, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2016.0019

Keywordssalivary glands, ultrasound, standards, parotid gland, submandibular gland

© 2016 Piotr Zajkowski et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Public License.

Keywords
salivary glands, ultrasound, standards, parotid gland, submandibular gland