[Nuclear magnetic resonance tomography in the diagnosis of head and neck tumors. A comparison of methods].

36 patients with carcinomas of different ENT regions were investigated by means of MRI, CT and B-mode ultrasonography (US). The images were evaluated by parameters of clinical importance: tumour detectability marginal appearance, internal architecture, regional extension, and artifact degradation. The results were compared with the clinical tumour staging in accordance with the TNM system. In MRI, a multiplanar imaging of tumour extension with horizontal, frontal and sagittal sections is possible. Together with a good contrasting of the tumour against the surrounding structures, these are major advantages over CT in the imaging of carcinomas of the tonsils, the hypopharynx and the larynx. For both methods, tumours of the tongue base and the floor of the mouth are a real challenge. Lymph node metastases can be visualised with MRI, but US is the method of choice for the evaluation of cervical lymph nodes.