Imaging of a Stafne Bone Cavity: What MR Adds and Why a New Name Is Needed

51-year-old man with a history of sinus congestion.

A, Lateral radiograph shows a radiolucent, ovoid, corticate lesion anterior to the right mandibular angle (arrow).

B, Dental CT scan, axial view, shows the radiolucency (arrow) to be a corticate defect on the lingual surface of the mandible.

C, On parasagittal curved reformatted image, the defect (black arrow) is seen to lie below the lower margin of the inferior alveolar canal (white arrows).

D, Axial proton density--weighted MR image (3300/17/1) shows that the mandibular defect (long arrow) contains soft tissue in continuity with, and isointense with, the submandibular salivary gland (short arrows). The contralateral gland (g) is marked for comparison.

E, Coronal T1-weighted MR image (600/16/1) again shows that the bony defect (long arrow) contains an extension of tissue from the submandibular gland (short arrows).