The Role of MRI in the Assessment of Peripheral and Maxillo-Facial Soft Tissue Vascular Anomalies

Abstract

Vascular lesions of softtissuesareclassifiedinto vascular tumorsand vascular malformationson thebasisof their natural history,cellular turnover,andhistology. Hemangiomasare benignendothelialcell neoplasmsthat appear duringinfancy andusually have ahistory of proliferationfollowed byspontaneousinvolution.

However,vascular malformationsarepresentatbirth andenlarge in proportiontothe growth of the child.Vascular malformationsare subcategorizedaslymphatic,capillary, venous,arteriovenous,andmixedmalformations,according to the predominant type ofvesselinvolvedalternatively, vascularmalformationscanbeclassifiedintolow-flow or high-flow lesions onthebasis ofhemodynamicflow characteristics.

Malformations with arterial components are consideredtobehigh-flow lesions (arterialmalformations containing macrofistulas and arteriovenous malformations containingmicrofistulasthrougha vascular nidus),andthose without arterial components areconsidered to below-flow lesions(venous,capillary,and lymphaticmalformations).