Quick Facts
Location: Along the course of the transverse cervical artery, anterior to anterior and middle scalene muscles.
Drainage: Lymph nodes of the head via the accessory chain or internal jugular nodes.
Direction of Flow: Jugular trunk > thoracic duct (left) or right lymphatic duct.
Related parts of the anatomy
Description
The supraclavicular vessels are located along the transverse cervical artery. These structures have a close anatomical relation with the jugular chain.
On the left side of the body, these vessels can receive efferents from the abdominal cavity and therefore, nodes of this network are sentinel nodes of cancer of the abdomen, specifically gastric, ovarian, testicular, and kidney cancer.
Laterally the supraclavicular chain is connected to the accessory chain and thus, serves as the main afferent pathway of the accessory chain. Additionally, the supraclavicular nodes receive afferents from the skin in the anterolateral neck and chest wall (Földi et al., 2012).
References
Földi, M., Földi, E., Strößenreuther, R. and Kubik, S. (2012) Földi's Textbook of Lymphology: for Physicians and Lymphedema Therapists. Elsevier Health Sciences.
