Quick Facts
Location: Surrounding the rectum.
Drainage: Lower rectum.
Direction of Flow: External and Internal iliac lymph nodes (also superficial inguinal and sacral lymph nodes) > Common iliac lymph nodes > Lateral aortic lymph nodes (left) and lateral caval lymph nodes (right) > left and right lumbar lymph trunk > cisterna chyli > thoracic duct.
Related parts of the anatomy
Description
The pararectal lymph nodes are associated with the middle and inferior anorectal arteries. They drain the lower rectum, retuning lymph to the external and internal iliac lymph nodes.
List of Clinical Correlates
- Metastatic cancer of lower rectum (Bell et al., 2009)
References
Bell, S., Sasaki, J., Sinclair, G., Chapuis, P. H. and Bokey, E. L. (2009) 'Understanding the anatomy of lymphatic drainage and the use of blue-dye mapping to determine the extent of lymphadenectomy in rectal cancer surgery: unresolved issues', Colorectal Dis, 11(5), pp. 443-9.
