The role of ultrasonography in identifying glomic tumors

Background: Glomic tumors (or chemodectomas) are rare vascular tumors (0.6% of head and neck tumors and 0.03% of total neoplasms) that arise from paraganglionar cells of external layer of carotid artery and develop at the site of the bifurcation. The first report was made by Haller in 1762 and renamed chemodectomas by Mulligan in 1950, in order to suggest the origin in chemoreceptor cells, respectively paragangliomas in 1974 by Glenner and Grimley, in relation with the histological structure. The incidence is maximal between 45 and 50 years, without any sex prevalence. The most common presentation is an asymptom…