Abstract
Cancers of the head and neck—including cancers of the buccal cavity, head and neck subset, larynx, pharynx, thyroid, salivary glands, and nose/nasal passages—account for approximately 6 % of all malignancies in the United States [1]. Careful analysis of nodes in the neck and knowledge of the various compartments is critical in the assessment and staging of primary head and neck malignancies. Regardless of the site of the primary tumor, the presence of a single metastatic lymph node in either the ipsilateral or contralateral side of the neck reduces the 5-year survival rate by about 50 %. The risk of cervical metastasis depends on the site of origin of the primary tumor [2].
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Altekruse SF KC, Krapcho M, Neyman N, Aminou R, Waldron W, Ruhl J, Howlader N, Tatalovich Z, Cho H, Mariotto A, Eisner MP, Lewis DR, Cronin K, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Stinchcomb DG, Edwards BK, editors. SEER Cancer Statistics Review. 1975–2007. Bethesda: National Cancer Institute. Accessible at: http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2007/, based on November 2009 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site, 2010. Accessed 17 May 2012.
Robbins KT, Clayman G, Levine PA, et al. Neck dissection classification update: revisions proposed by the American Head and Neck Society and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2002;128:751–8.
Paff GH. Anatomy of the head and neck. Philadelphia: Saunders; 1973.
Schuller DE. Management of cervical metastasis in head and neck cancer. Washington, D.C.: American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Foundation; 1982.
Robbins KT. Classification of neck dissection: current concepts and future considerations. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 1998;31:639–55.
Shah JP, Strong E, Spiro RH, Vikram B. Surgical grand rounds. Neck dissection: current status and future possibilities. Clin Bull. 1981;11:25–33.
Som PM. Detection of metastasis in cervical lymph nodes: CT and MR criteria and differential diagnosis. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1992;158:961–9.
van den Brekel MW, Stel HV, Castelijns JA, et al. Cervical lymph node metastasis: assessment of radiologic criteria. Radiology. 1990;177:379–84.
Rouviere H. Lymphatic system of the head and neck. Ann Arbor: Edwards Brothers; 1938.
Suojanen JN, Mukherji SK, Dupuy DE, et al. Spiral CT in evaluation of head and neck lesions: work in progress. Radiology. 1992;183:281–3.
van den Brekel MW, Castelijns JA, Snow GB. Detection of lymph node metastases in the neck: radiologic criteria. Radiology. 1994;192:617–8.
van den Brekel MW, Castelijns JA. Imaging of lymph nodes in the neck. Semin Roentgenol. 2000;35:42–53.
Buckley JG, Feber T. Surgical treatment of cervical node metastases from squamous carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract: evaluation of the evidence for modifications of neck dissection. Head Neck. 2001;23:907–15.
Ahuja AT, Leung SF, Teo P, et al. Submental metastases from nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Clin Radiol. 1999;54:25–8.
Som PM, Curtin HD, Mancuso AA. An imaging-based classification for the cervical nodes designed as an adjunct to recent clinically based nodal classifications. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1999;125:388–96.
Lee BJ, Wang SG, Lee JC, et al. Level IIb lymph node metastasis in neck dissection for papillary thyroid carcinoma. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007;133:1028–30.
Moulding FJ, Roach SC, Carrington BM. Unusual sites of lymph node metastases and pitfalls in their detection. Clin Radiol. 2004;59:558–72.
Byers RM, Weber RS, Andrews T, et al. Frequency and therapeutic implications of “skip metastases” in the neck from squamous carcinoma of the oral tongue. Head Neck. 1997;19:14–9.
Seethala RR. Current state of neck dissection in the United States. Head Neck Pathol. 2009;3:238–45.
Bhatia KS, Griffith JF, Ahuja AT. Stomach cancer: prevalence and significance of neck nodal metastases on sonography. Eur Radiol. 2009;19:1968–72.
van Vledder MG, van der Hage JA, Kirkels WJ, et al. Cervical lymph node dissection for metastatic testicular cancer. Ann Surg Oncol. 2010;17:1682–7.
Ozlugedik S, Ibrahim Acar H, Apaydin N, et al. Retropharyngeal space and lymph nodes: an anatomical guide for surgical dissection. Acta Otolaryngol. 2005;125:1111–5.
Mancuso AA, Harnsberger HR, Muraki AS, Stevens MH. Computed tomography of cervical and retropharyngeal lymph nodes: normal anatomy, variants of normal, and applications in staging head and neck cancer. Part II: pathology. Radiology. 1983;148:715–23.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Harisinghani, M.G. (2013). Head and Neck Lymph Node Anatomy. In: Harisinghani, M. (eds) Atlas of Lymph Node Anatomy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9767-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9767-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-9766-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-9767-8
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)