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Would MRI without contrast or cervical Xray show swollen lymph nodes?
Hi I am wondering about MRI without contrast. I've had a hard lump on the back of my neck for about 5 months now. I've had cervical spine X-rays and cervical MRI without contrast. Would either of these show if this is a lymph node? Thanks.
The X-ray will NOT show lymph nodes; X-ray is good for bones, but not so good for soft tissues (at most you will just see focal soft tissue swelling, which you already know about). The best test for lymph nodes is CT or MRI neck with contrast (contrast helps to highlight abnormal pathology). If you cannot get contrast, you can do CT or MRI neck without contrast.
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