Quick Facts
Location: Within the parotid gland.
Drainage: Parotid gland, the frontal and parietal scalp, the eyelids, nares, middle ear, and oral cavity.
Direction of Flow: Infraauricular nodes > internal jugular nodes > supraclavicular nodes > jugular trunk > thoracic duct (left) or right lymphatic duct.
Related parts of the anatomy
Description
Deep parotid nodes are often also referred to as intraglandular nodes, as they are found embedded in the glandular tissue. There are usually between four and ten individual nodes scattered throughout the gland. Most nodes are located in the preauricular region of the superficial parotid lobe; there are usually very few nodes within the deep lobe. They are often located in the connective tissue between the two lobes and in close relation to the facial nerve. The deep parotid nodes are difficult to differentiate from the glandular tissue in gross dissection due to similarity in their appearance (Földi et al., 2012).
List of Clinical Correlates
—Parotid gland tumor
—Parotitis
References
Földi, M., Földi, E., Strößenreuther, R. and Kubik, S. (2012) Földi's Textbook of Lymphology: for Physicians and Lymphedema Therapists. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Learn more about this topic from other Elsevier products
Parotid Lymph Nodes
The parotid lymph nodes include the intraglandular nodes within the fascia circumscribing the parotid space (PS).
