The inferior mesenteric lymph nodes consist of: * (a) small glands on the branches of the

left colic The left colic artery is a branch of the inferior mesenteric artery distributed to the descending colon, and left part of the transverse colon. It ends by dividing into an ascending branch and a descending branch; the terminal branches of the two ...

and

sigmoid arteries The sigmoid arteries are 2-5 branches of the inferior mesenteric artery that are distributed to the distal descending colon and the sigmoid colon. Anatomy Course and relations The sigmoid arteries course obliquely inferior-ward and to the lef ...

* (b) a group in the

sigmoid mesocolon The mesentery is an organ that attaches the intestines to the posterior abdominal wall in humans and is formed by the double fold of peritoneum. It helps in storing fat and allowing blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves to supply the intestines ...

, around the superior hemorrhoidal artery * (c) a pararectal group in contact with the muscular coat of the

rectum The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the Gastrointestinal tract, gut in others. The adult human rectum is about long, and begins at the rectosigmoid junction (the end of the s ...

Structure

The inferior mesenteric lymph nodes are

lymph node A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that inclu ...

s present throughout the

hindgut The hindgut (or epigaster) is the posterior ( caudal) part of the alimentary canal. In mammals, it includes the distal one third of the transverse colon and the splenic flexure, the descending colon, sigmoid colon and up to the ano-rectal juncti ...

Function

The inferior mesenteric lymph nodes drain structures related to the

. The lymph nodes drain into the superior mesenteric lymph nodes and ultimately to the

preaortic lymph nodes The preaortic lymph nodes lie in front of the aorta, and may be divided into celiac lymph nodes, superior mesenteric lymph nodes, and inferior mesenteric lymph nodes groups, arranged around the origins of the corresponding arteries. The celiac ly ...

. Lymph nodes surrounding the

inferior mesenteric artery In human anatomy, the inferior mesenteric artery, often abbreviated as IMA, is the third main branch of the abdominal aorta and arises at the level of L3, supplying the large intestine from the distal transverse colon to the upper part of the ana ...

drain directly into the preaortic nodes. They drain the

descending colon In the anatomy of humans and homologous primates, the descending colon is the part of the colon extending from the left colic flexure to the level of the iliac crest (whereupon it transitions into the sigmoid colon). The function of the descendin ...

and sigmoid parts of the colon and the upper part of the

Clinical significance

Colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

may

metastasise Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

to the inferior mesenteric lymph nodes. For this reason, the

may be removed in people with lymph node-positive cancer. This has been proposed since at least 1908, by surgeon

William Ernest Miles William Ernest Miles (15 January 1869 – 24 September 1947) was an English surgeon known for the Miles' operation: an abdomino-perineal excision for rectal cancer. Sources differ as to whether Miles was born in Trinidad or in Uppingham, Engla ...

Additional images

File:Lymph node regions.svg , Regional lymph tissue File:Illu lymph chain09.jpg, Lymph Nodes of the Large Intestine and Lower Abdomen

References

{{Portal bar, Anatomy Lymphatics of the torso