Cervical lymph nodes

Function

The cervical node chains — superficial and deep, along the internal jugular and in the posterior triangle — filter the head and neck's lymph. They swell with every throat infection, which is why 'glands' in a child's neck are paediatrics' commonest examination finding.

Levels I–VI map them for oncology: level II drains the oral cavity, oropharynx (including the tonsil) and nasopharynx; level III the larynx and hypopharynx; level IV the thyroid, hypopharynx and cervical oesophagus; level V the nasopharynx and posterior scalp. A node over 1 cm for six weeks, or hard and fixed, is cancer until proven otherwise.

Blood supply

Occipital, auricular and cervical branches.

Nerve supply

Sympathetic vasomotor fibres.

Clinical relevance

Reactive lymphadenitis

Viral and bacterial infections make nodes tender and mobile — the immune system's visible work.

Metastatic nodes

Hard, fixed, painless nodes — from thyroid, laryngeal or oral cancers — demand fine-needle diagnosis.

Related conditions

• Lymphoma