The deep cervical lymph nodes are a group of

cervical lymph nodes Cervical lymph nodes are lymph nodes found in the neck. Of the 800 lymph nodes in the human body, 300 are in the neck. Cervical lymph nodes are subject to a number of different pathological conditions including tumours, infection and inflamma ...

in the neck that form a chain along the

internal jugular vein The internal jugular vein is a paired jugular vein that collects blood from the brain and the superficial parts of the face and neck. This vein runs in the carotid sheath with the common carotid artery and vagus nerve. It begins in the posteri ...

within the

carotid sheath The carotid sheath is a condensation of the deep cervical fascia enveloping multiple vital neurovascular structures of the neck, including the common and internal carotid arteries, the internal jugular vein, the vagus nerve (CN X), and ansa c ...

Structure

Classification

The deep cervical lymph nodes are subdivided into a superior group and an inferior group. Alternatively, they can be divided into deep anterior cervical lymph nodes and deep lateral cervical lymph nodes. They can also be divided into three groups: "superior deep jugular", "middle deep jugular", and "inferior deep jugular".

Relations

The deep cervical lymph nodes are contained in the

in the neck, close to the

. They connect to the meningeal lymphatic vessels superiorly.

Afferents

All lymphatic vessels of the head and neck ultimately drain to the deep cervical lymph nodes - either by way of other lymph nodes or directly from tissues. CNS lymphatic vessels have been found to drain to the deep cervical lymph nodes in a 2016 animal study.

Efferents

Efferents of the deep cervical lymph nodes form the

ipsilateral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

jugular trunk.

References

Lymphatics of the head and neck {{Lymphatic-stub