THE LYMPHATICS OF THE NECK. 



957 



Fig. 806. 



Digastric muscle 



Sterno- 

 mastoid 

 muscle, 

 slump 



1*. • . 



) hs Superior deep 



y cervical node 



Anterior 



cervical 



node 



Recurrential 

 node 



Anterior cers'ical and recurrential nodes and lymphatics 

 of laryn.x. (MosL*) 



The second subgroup is that of the anterior cervical nodes, which are both variable 



and inconstant and are situated beneath 



the depressor muscles of the hyoid 



bone, resting upon the anterior surface 



of the larynx and on the anterior and 



lateral surfaces of the trachea. Those 



which rest upon the trachea are some- 

 what more constant than the others, but 



like them they are usually small and 



are therefore likely to be overlooked in 



normal conditions. The more lateral 



members of the series, from three to si.x 



in number, are arranged in a chain 



which follows the course of the recurrent 



(inferior) laryngeal nerve and are some- 

 times spoken of as the recurrential 



nodes. The anterior cervical nodes 



receive afferents from the larynx and 



trachea, and their efferents pass to the 



lower superior deep cervical nodes. 



The superior deep cervical 



nodes (lymphoglandulae cervicales pro- 



fundae superiores) vary from ten to 



sixteen in number, and extend along 



the course of the internal jugular vein 



from the tip of the mastoid process to 



the level at which the vein is crossed 



by the omo-hyoid muscle. They lie 



either direcdy upon the vein or slightly posterior to it, beneath the sterno-cleido- 



mastoid muscle, and are 

 Fig. 807. all united by numerous 



connecting stems so that 

 they form a veritable 

 plexus. Some of the 

 nodes are exceedingly 

 constant in position, one, 

 especially, which receives 

 numerous afferents from 

 the lingual region and has 

 therefore been termed the 

 principal node of the 

 tongue, occurring at about 

 the level of the bifurcation 

 of the common carotid 

 artery, and a second is 

 situated just above the 

 omo-hyoid muscle. The 

 afferents of the group are 

 very numerous, and may 

 be divided into two classes 

 according as they take 

 their origin in nodes 

 belonging to other groups 

 or come directly from 

 the lymphatic net-works. 

 Belonging to the first 

 class and terminating in 



Sterno-mastoid 

 muscle, cut 



Superior deep 

 cervical node 



Deep cervical lymph-nodes. 



cictso dina \.^y iiiiiidLiiig 111 



the more posterior nodes are the efferent stems for the posterior auricular and 



*Anatom. Anzeiger, Bd. xv., 1899. 



