[MR angiography for tumor diagnosis in the head-neck region: the study technic and clinical results]

40 normal individuals and 153 patients with lesions in the head and neck were examined by conventional imaging methods and by means of MR angiography (1.5-tesla Magnetom). The problems to be solved concerned the relationship between tumors and vessels and vascular anomalies and abnormalities at the skull base (56 cases), the facial skeleton (62 cases) and the neck (35 cases). Digital subtraction angiography was performed in 54 patients and the findings correlated with MR angiography. Optimal results were obtained by using a FISP 3D sequence; in this way arterial structures could be rendered reproducibly down to a diameter of 2 mm. The venous system in the head and neck was best shown by a FLASH 2D sequence. Correlation with arterial DSA showed high accuracy of MR angiography (91%) concerning displacement of vessels, the topography and the recognition of vascular occlusions. Our results indicate that MR angiography is a rapid and reliable procedure for evaluating the arterial and venous changes due to tumors in the head and neck region.