Contrast-enhanced MDCT characteristics of parathyroid adenomas.

OBJECTIVE: Minimally invasive directed parathyroidectomy has replaced conventional surgical techniques aimed at exploring all four glands in the bilateral neck. These changes have created the need for better preoperative imaging localization techniques. In this article, we describe the CT imaging characteristics of surgically confirmed adenomas and review anatomy and embryology to aid the radiologist in successfully identifying adenomas using contrast-enhanced CT. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of normal CT appearance, contrast enhancement, and expected location are critical to correct interpretation of parathyroid adenoma at CT.