Nuclear medicine in diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the head and neck: II.

The advent of both improved imaging systems and new radioactive agents has increased the effectiveness of nuclear medicine in diagnosing and treating diseases of the head and neck. In this second of two articles, we discuss radionuclide bone imaging and the role of nuclear medicine in the management of thyroid disease. Radionuclide bone imaging is useful in the differential diagnosis of sinusitis, the early detection of head and neck fracture, the assessment of temporomandibular joint disease, and the identification of local extension of primary head and neck carcinoma. In the management of thyroid disease, radionuclide technology is uniquely helpful in the diagnostic evaluation of the thyroid nodule and radioactive iodine continues to play a major role in thyroid cancer therapy.