Lecture 4 - Cervical Lymph Nodes, Lymphadenopathy And Neck Lumps Flashcards
What are the 3 general roles of the lymphatic system in the body?
Remove excess fluid from interstitial space
Returns small proteins and fluid leaked from capillaries back into venous circulation
Key role in immune defence and surveillance (physical and phagocytic barrier)
What is lymphadenopathy?
Enlarged lymph nodes due to either I infection/inflammation or malignancy
What is lymphoedema?
When theres a problem with lymphatics so excess lymph/interstitial fluid not removed very well
What is meant by lymph nodes being described as palpable or non-palpable?
Palpable (sometimes when normal but especially when enlarged)
Non-palpable (even if enlarged)
What are some locations of palpable lymph nodes?
Cervical lymph nodes (neck)
Axilla
Groin
What is important to note about cervical lymph nodes in children?
Can be palpable even in healthy children
What is Waldeyers Ring?
Essentially a group of tonsils, so groups of lymphoid tissue found submucosally in a ring in the upper aero digestive tract
What are the 4 lymphoid tissues found in Waldeyers ring?
Adenoid/pharyngeal tonsils
Tubal tonsil
Palatine tonsils
Lingual tonsil
What are tonsils?
Collection of lymphatic tissue associated with mucosal tissue (MALT)
Don’t have a fibrous capsule like nodes do
Where is the adenoids/pharyngeal tonsil?
Most superior
In the midline of the upper nasopharynx
Where are the Tubal tonsils located?
Surround openings of Eustachian tubes
Lateral walls of the nasopharynx
Where are the palatine tonsils?
Referred to as “The Tonsils”
Found in lateral oropharynx wall
Visible when you open the mouth
Where are the lingual tonsils?
At the base of the tongue (posterior third)
Why can enlargement of the pharyngeal tonsil (adenoids) be dangerous?
Can obstruct nasal breathing
Blockage of Eustachian tube (leads to middle ear problems)
What is tonsillitis?
Inflammation of the palatine tonsils
What is the most common type of organism causing tonsillitis?
Viral
If the cause of Tonsilitis is bacterial what is the most common causative organism?
Streptococcus
How does tonsilitis present?
Painful swallowing
Halitosis
Pyrexia
Tonsils erythematous, exudate and lymphadenopathy
What are the 2 groups of cervical lymph nodes?
Superficial cervical lymph nodes
Deep cervical lymph nodes
Where are the superficial cervical lymph nodes located?
In the superficial cervical fascia just beneath the skin
Where do the superficial cervical lymph nodes run/what structure do they form?
Forms a ring from chin to occiput
What do the superficial cervical lymph nodes drain into?
The deep cervical lymph nodes
Where are the deep cervical lymph nodes located?
Deep in the neck in the carotid sheath
Most are associated with the Internal Jugular Vein
What drains into the deep cervical lymph nodes?
Deep tissues like the thyroid, trachea and oesophagus
And superficial lymph nodes
What is the name of the structure that is the chin?
Mental protuberance (promince of the mandible
What are the important superficial cervical lymph nodes in the order you’d assess them?
Submental
Submandibular
Pre-auricular and parotid
Post-auricular
Superficial cervical
Anterior cervical
Posterior cervical
Occipital
Look at the last slide of the lecture:
What are the lymph nodes?
1 = submental
2 = submandibular
3 = pre-auricular and parotid
4 = post-auricular
5 = occipital
6 = superfical cervical
7 = posterior cervical
8 = anterior cervical
How are the superficial cervical lymph nodes associated with SCM and the route of what blood vessel?
On surface of SCM
Associated with External Jugular Vein