Head and Neck Imaging

Glomus tumour

neoplasm arising from chemoreceptor tissue (glomus formations). Most of the neoplasms of the chemoreceptor system are found in the head and neck. They are classified according to their site of origin as carotid body tumour, glomus jugulare tumour, glomus vagale tumour, or glomus tympanicum tumour. Carotid body tumours are the most frequent. A glomus tumour can occur sporadically or be familial (inherited as an autosomal dominant disease). They can be multicentric, this being more frequently seen in familial cases. Virtually all head and neck glomus tumours are nonsecretory (nonchromaffin).

These tumours are hypervascular, as can be appreciated on CT and MRI studies. They show significant contrast enhancement, and commonly (though not invariably) intratumoral signal voids (corresponding to rapid blood flow in vessels) are seen on MRI. Glomus tumours may behave in a malignant fashion, showing infiltration of surrounding tissues; metastatic deposits are rarely encountered. Such infiltrating behaviour is seen more in carotid body tumours than in other localizations.

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