Fig 2. 31-year-old woman with right-sided carotidynia.

A, Axial T1-weighted image (700/11/2) at the level of the distal common carotid artery shows abnormal soft-tissue signal surrounding the carotid (arrows). The carotid itself is normal in contour and caliber.

B, Axial contrast-enhanced T1-weighted image at the same level shows marked enhancement of the tissue surrounding the vessel. Note the smooth margins of the enhancement as it extends toward the internal jugular vein, suggesting conformance to the fascial borders of the carotid sheath.