Areas of physiologic uptake were localized to a variety of normal tissues including lymphoid tissue (tonsils and adenoids), skeletal muscle (e.g., muscles of mastication), salivary glands (parotid and submandibular), and mucosa (palate and nasopharynx). Patterns of distribution of FDG uptake were variable and often reflected patient activity (e.g., talking, coughing) during the FDG uptake phase. Asymmetric superphysiologic uptake was localized to the true vocal cord contralateral to a paralyzed vocal cord (4).

CONCLUSION

We present an atlas of physiologic FDG uptake in the head and neck derived from a large patient sample imaged on a prototype combined PET/CT scanner. Recognition of variable patterns of physiologic uptake in the head and neck that can be definitively localized to normal anatomic structures will likely enhance the accuracy of interpretation in head and neck PET imaging.