Anterior inferior jugular nodes
Nodi jugulares inferiores anteriores
Deep lymph nodes of the lower neck lying in front of the internal jugular vein, below the point where omohyoid crosses it.
At a glance
- English
- Anterior inferior jugular nodes
- Latin (TA2)
- Nodi jugulares inferiores anteriores
- System
- Lymphatic
- Region
- Neck
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the anterior inferior jugular nodes
The anterior inferior jugular nodes belong to the inferior deep lateral cervical group, the lower half of the chain of nodes that follows the internal jugular vein down the side of the neck. They sit on the front surface of the vein in its lower course, below the crossing of the omohyoid muscle and above the root of the neck. Sternocleidomastoid covers them, so in health they cannot be felt.
Their neighbours within the lower chain are the lateral inferior jugular nodes on the outer side of the vein and the jugulo-omohyoid node at the crossing of the muscle. The common carotid artery and the vagus nerve run beside and behind the vein in the carotid sheath, so the nodes lie on the surface of the sheath.
Like the rest of the lower deep chain, they collect lymph that has already passed through the upper deep cervical nodes, together with lymph from the nearby structures of the lower neck. Their outflow joins the jugular lymph trunk, which empties into the venous angle at the root of the neck, on the left usually by way of the thoracic duct.
The deep cervical chain is the final common route for lymph from the whole head and neck. Nodes in this lower part therefore enlarge with cancers of the larynx, pharynx, thyroid and mouth that have spread down the chain, and are removed in a neck dissection when such spread is suspected.
Course and drainage
- Begins at
- Afferent vessels from the upper deep cervical nodes and from the structures of the lower neck alongside the internal jugular vein.
- Drains into
- Efferent vessels join the jugular lymph trunk, ending at the junction of the internal jugular and subclavian veins.
- Drains
- Filters lymph descending the deep cervical chain from the head and neck. Enlarges when cancers of the larynx, pharynx, thyroid or mouth spread down the chain, and is taken in a neck dissection.
Anthromica
See the anterior inferior jugular nodes where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
