Description
Interstitial fluid, plasma proteins, and cellular waste exist within tissues and require removal in order to maintain tissue homeostasis. These products are removed from the tissue as lymphatic fluid. Lymphatic fluid from the head and neck is drained from the tissue through a network of vessels and intervening nodes.
This network can be divided by location and further categorized into superficial and deep structures.
There are seven groups of nodes in the head, including the: occipital, mastoid, parotid, submandibular, submental, facial, and lingual lymph nodes. The neck contains the anterior cervical, lateral cervical, and retropharyngeal lymph nodes. Most of these groups are further divided into superficial and deep structures.
From these nodes, lymph flows inferiorly to the group of deep cervical collecting lymph nodes of the neck, which in turn drain to the left and right jugular lymph trunks, proximal to the junctions of the internal jugular vein with the subclavian vein on each side of the body.
Lymph from the right jugular trunk drains into the right lymphatic trunk, which opens into the venous system at the junction of the right internal jugular vein with the right subclavian vein. Lymph from the left jugular trunk drains into the thoracic duct, which opens into the venous system at the junction of the left internal jugular vein with the left subclavian vein.
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Cervical Lymph Node
“Posterior cervical nodes” is a nonspecific term referring to nodes of the spinal accessory chain and those of the superficial cervical chain that lie over and behind the sternomastoid muscle.
