Sonographic Anatomy and Pathology: Facial Soft Tissues Including Muscles

The ultrasound (US) can be used successfully for the evaluation of structures and pathological changes of facial soft tissues and muscles of the maxillofacial region. Ultrasonography (USG) is a nonionizing, noninvasive, inexpensive, and painless imaging tool that can be performed as much as needed in a very short time and in children and pregnant women. Additionally, US probe may be used to palpate a lesion to understand the stiffness or compressibility of it, a feature not present in magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. It is important to know the normal sonographic features of facial structures to be able to recognize the pathology.