Background and Objectives: Fine need aspiration cytology (FNAC) has become a rapid, cost effective investigative method for obtaining reliable tissue diagnosis especially for the site like head and neck where considerable overlapping of various structures makes it difficult to reach exact diagnosis. The present study is taken up to evaluate role of FNA in management and diagnosis of various head and neck lesions and to study the spectrum of various lesions encountered. Materials and Methods: Present study is a retrospective descriptive study. A total of 570 cases of palpable head and neck masses were subjected to FNAC at cytology OPD using 2324 gauge needle and 10 ml syringe. Detailed cytological assessment was done. Results: Out of 570 cases, thyroid lesions accounted for 38.07%, lymph node lesions were 33.19%, salivary gland lesions were 9.29% and skin/soft tissue and miscellaneous were 19.47%. Among thyroid lesions goitre (66.8%) accounted for maximum number of cases, metastatic carcinoma(33.86%) was the commonest lymph node lesion followed by tubercular lymphadenitis (19.57%) and pleomorphic adenoma (38.07%) was the commonest among salivary gland lesions. Conclusion: This study concludes that FNAC is quite effective, simple investigative procedure with very good patient compliance. Use of FNAC should be encouraged as an investigation for initial diagnostic evaluation of head and neck lesion and as a tool to avoid unnecessary surgical procedure and its complications.

Keywords: Head and Neck Lesions; Diagnostic Tool; Thyroid Lesions; Tubercular Lymphadenitis.