We report on a 50-year-old man who suffered from chronic lumbago. CT and MRI revealed a paravertebral tumor mass growing through the neural foramen of lumbar vertebrae 1/2. Signal features on MRI and contrast medium enhancement characteristics were not diagnostically specific. After biopsy a glomus tumor of uncertain malignant potential was diagnosed. We also describe the features of glomus tumors and the possible differential diagnoses.

The findings help to advance the understanding of the distribution and kinetics of intravenous-injected small particles of iron oxide in osteosarcoma-like tumors. A first-pass accumulation of iron oxide could be documented by MR imaging in the periphery of osteosarcomas. Due to sieving of iron oxide particles by liver, spleen, and bone marrow, the signal intensity at 45 minutes after the injection of iron oxide returned to 89% (150 mumol iron oxide/kg) and 95% (50 mumol iron oxide/kg) of the preinjection intensity.

Glomus tumors of the head and neck are rare tumors of adulthood which arise from paraganglia or glomus cells within the carotid glomus, vagus nerve, middle ear or jugular foramen. The diagnosis of these mostly benign lesions is predominantly done with CT and MRI. DSA can provide important additional information. Besides surgical resection, one therapy option is radiological intervention with tumor embolisation. Because of the typical radiological imaging and the "salt and pepper appearance" in MRI, glomus tumors can be differentiated from other lesions in the head and neck. This review gives a survey of the classification, diagnosis and therapy of paragangliomas with images to demonstrate characteristic features.

The CT-measured urine samples as evidence of renal excretion of orally or rectally applied Gastrografin are not reliable for the detection of leaks from the GI-tract.

No abstract