Ectopic thymus

Case contributed by Joseph Scheller
Diagnosis almost certain

Presentation

Infant with mass in the left neck.

Patient Data

Age: 6 months
Gender: Male
mri

Large left neck mass anterior to the carotid/jugular vessels and adjacent to left sternocleidomastoid muscle in the submandibular region. It extends from the upper neck to the mid neck region.

Case Discussion

An infant with a mass in the left neck thought initially to be torticollis. On MRI, the tissue signal intensity is that of the mediastinal thymus. Ectopic thymus tissue involutes in childhood just as normal thymus tissue does.

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