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The paper is an update of 2011 Standards for Ultrasound Assessment of Salivary Glands, which were developed by the Polish Ultrasound Society. We have described current ultrasound technical requirements, assessment and measurement techniques as well as guidelines for ultrasound description. We have also discussed an ultrasound image of normal salivary glands as well as the most important pathologies, such as inflammation, sialosis, collagenosis, injuries and proliferative processes, with particular emphasis on lesions indicating high risk of malignancy. In acute bacterial inflammation, the salivary glands appear as hypoechoic, enlarged or normal-sized, with increased parenchymal flow. The echogenicity is significantly increased in viral infections. Degenerative lesions may be seen in chronic inflammations. Hyperechoic deposits with acoustic shadowing can be visualized in lithiasis. Parenchymal fibrosis is a dominant feature of sialosis. Sjögren syndrome produces different pictures of salivary gland parenchymal lesions at different stages of the disease. Pleomorphic adenomas are usually hypoechoic, well-defined and polycyclic in most cases. Warthin tumor usually presents as a hypoechoic, oval-shaped lesion with anechoic cystic spaces. Malignancies are characterized by blurred outlines, irregular shape, usually heterogeneous echogenicity and pathological neovascularization. The accompanying metastatic lesions are another indicator of malignancy, however, final diagnosis should be based on biopsy findings.

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Modern ultrasound with high resolution transducers, and sensitive power Doppler and color Doppler modes, and other options, such as panoramic and 3D imaging, allows for detailed imaging of many anatomical structures and pathologic lesions of the head and neck. Only the structures situated in the sonographic acoustic shadow: behind bones, calcified cartilages, stones, and behind organs containing gas (f.e. trachea and larynx) can not be visualized. Ultrasound is widely regarded as the first imaging method in the diseases of the thyroid, salivary glands (parotid gland, submandibular gland and sublingual gland), lymph nodes, muscles, soft tissues of the head and neck, and as an valuable adjunct in some laryngeal pathologies. Real time ultrasound examination allows for dynamic assessment of organs and lesions, lets the examiner check the susceptibility of tumors for pressure, which is inaccessible in other imaging methods. Tumors and congenital lesions, inflammation, abscesses, abnormal lymph nodes, cysts, muscle hypertrophy and posttraumatic conditions may be well evaluated with ultrasound. However, most neck tumors (f.e. in the thyroid, salivary glands, and soft tisses) as well as equivocal lymph nodes demand fine needle aspiration biopsy to determine their benign or malignant nature. This paper presents application of ultrasound examination in the head and neck area including limitations of ultrasound diagnostics in many clinical cases. Data taken from Polish and foreign literature and author's experience are included in this paper.

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