Mastoid nodes
Nodi mastoidei
A small pair of lymph nodes behind the ear, lying on the mastoid process at the upper attachment of sternocleidomastoid.
At a glance
- English
- Mastoid nodes
- Latin (TA2)
- Nodi mastoidei
- System
- Lymphatic
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the mastoid nodes
The mastoid nodes, also called the retro-auricular or posterior auricular nodes, are a small group behind the ear, typically two. They lie on the outer surface of the mastoid process of the temporal bone, over the tendon by which sternocleidomastoid attaches there, and under cover of the small posterior auricular muscle. They form part of the ring of nodes that encircles the junction of head and neck.
In front of them lies the auricle, and the posterior auricular artery and vein run nearby. Above and behind is the scalp over the parietal and occipital bones, and further back the occipital nodes continue the ring towards the midline. Below, the upper end of the internal jugular vein lies deep to sternocleidomastoid.
Lymph arrives from the back of the scalp above the ear, the temporoparietal area, from the back surface of the auricle and from the back wall of the external ear canal. Outflow passes deep to sternocleidomastoid to reach the upper part of the deep cervical chain on the internal jugular vein.
These nodes are easy to feel when enlarged, as soft, tender lumps just behind the ear. Common causes are scalp infections and head lice, infection of the ear canal or the skin behind the ear, and viral illnesses; enlargement behind the ear is a classic finding in rubella. Persistent hard nodes here may hold spread from a skin cancer of the scalp or ear and need investigation.
Course and drainage
- Begins at
- Afferent vessels from the temporoparietal scalp behind the ear, the cranial surface of the auricle and the posterior wall of the external acoustic meatus.
- Drains into
- Efferent vessels pass to the superior deep cervical nodes along the internal jugular vein.
- Drains
- Filters lymph from the scalp and ear behind the auricle. Tender enlargement points to scalp or ear infection or to rubella; firm, persistent nodes may signal spread of a scalp or ear skin cancer.
Anthromica
See the mastoid 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.
