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Updated: May 7, 2026

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton
Published on: May 7, 2016
Branchial cleft cyst
M Valentino1, C Quiligotti, L Carone
1Ass3 Alto Friuli, Dipartimento di Radiologia, Ospedale di Tolmezzo e Gemona, Udine, Italy.
Abstract:
Branchial cleft cysts are benign lesions caused by anomalous development of the brachial cleft. This report describes a 20-year-old girl with swelling on the right lateral aspect of the neck, which expanded slowly but progressively. The clinical suspicion was that of a branchial cleft cyst. Sonography revealed a homogeneously hypo- to anechoic mass with well-defined margins and no intralesional septa. Color Doppler reviewed no internal vascularization. The ultrasound examination confirmed the clinical diagnosis of a second branchial cleft cyst, demonstrating the cystic nature of the mass and excluding the presence of complications. For superficial lesions like these, ultrasound is the first-level imaging study of choice because it is non-invasive, rapid, low-cost, and does not involve exposure to ionizing radiation.
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