An inconstant bursa in the retropharyngeal space between the posterior pharyngeal wall and the prevertebral fascia, reducing friction during swallowing and neck movement. When inflamed, it contributes to retropharyngeal swelling and odynophagia.
Retropharyngeal bursitis must be distinguished from a retropharyngeal abscess, which it may mimic both clinically and radiologically. Contrast MRI or CT demonstrates thin-walled, non-enhancing fluid in bursitis versus a ring-enhancing collection in abscess. Calcium deposition in a retropharyngeal bursa produces acute calcific retropharyngitis (calcium hydroxyapatite deposition at the longus colli origin), a painful but self-limiting condition.
Calcium hydroxyapatite deposition in the retropharyngeal space causing severe odynophagia, fever, and neck stiffness mimicking an abscess, confirmed by CT showing prevertebral calcification without rim enhancement.
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