The appearance of the inferior thyroid veins on computed tomography

Abstract

Computed tomography (CT) scans of the mediastinum in 80 patients were reviewed retrospectively to determine the nature of small opacities which are identified on contiguous cuts. These structures varied in number from one to five. The pattern of enhancement, appearance on contiguous CT sections and position in the mediastinum led us to believe that these represent inferior thyroid veins. To our knowledge their appearance on CT has not been reported previously.