{{Short description|Group of lymph nodes in the neck}} {{Infobox lymph | Name = Deep cervical lymph nodes | Latin = nodi lymphoidei cervicales profundi | Image = Illu lymph chain02.jpg | Caption = {{Cervical lymph nodes caption}} | Image2 = | Caption2 = | DrainsFrom = | Source = | DrainsTo = Jugular trunk }} The '''deep cervical lymph nodes''' are a group of cervical lymph nodes in the neck<ref name="isbn0-443-07168-3">{{cite book | vauthors = Ellis H, Standring S, Gray HD |title=Gray's anatomy: the anatomical basis of clinical practice |publisher=Elsevier Churchill Livingstone |location=St. Louis, Mo |year=2005 |isbn=0-443-07168-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/graysanatomyanat0000unse/page/936 936] |url=https://archive.org/details/graysanatomyanat0000unse/page/936 }}</ref> that form a chain along the internal jugular vein within the carotid sheath.<ref name=":023">{{Cite book |last1=Fehrenbach |first1=Margaret J. |title=Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck |last2=Herring |first2=Susan W. |date=2017 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-323-39634-9 |edition=5th |location=St. Louis |pages=148}}</ref>
== Structure ==
=== Classification === The deep cervical lymph nodes are subdivided into a superior group and an inferior group.<ref name="isbn0-7817-3639-0">{{cite book | vauthors = Dalley AF, Moore KL |title=Clinically oriented anatomy |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Hagerstown, MD |year=2006 |isbn=0-7817-3639-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/clinicallyorient00moor_1/page/356 356] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/clinicallyorient00moor_1/page/356 }}</ref><ref name=":22422">{{Cite book |last=Standring |first=Susan |title=Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-7020-7707-4 |edition=42th |location=New York |pages=593 |oclc=1201341621}}</ref>
Alternatively, they can be divided into deep anterior cervical lymph nodes and deep lateral cervical lymph nodes.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}
They can also be divided into three groups: "superior deep jugular", "middle deep jugular", and "inferior deep jugular".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.med.mun.ca/anatomyts/head/hnl3a.htm |title=Lymphatic drainage and fascial planes in the neck |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216031919/http://www.med.mun.ca/anatomyts/head/hnl3a.htm |archive-date=2008-02-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.bcm.edu/oto/studs/anat/neck.html Core Curriculum: Review of Neck Anatomy<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517165214/http://www.bcm.edu/oto/studs/anat/neck.html |date=2008-05-17 }}</ref>
=== Relations === The deep cervical lymph nodes are contained in the carotid sheath in the neck, close to the internal jugular vein.<ref>{{cite book | chapter = Midcervical Level|date=2018-01-01 |title = Imaging Anatomy: Ultrasound | edition = Second |pages=118–123| veditors = Woodward PJ, Griffith JF, Antonio GE, Ahuja AT |publisher=Elsevier|language=en|isbn=978-0-323-54800-7 }}</ref> They connect to the meningeal lymphatic vessels superiorly.<ref name=":0">{{cite book | vauthors = Anrather J | chapter = Chapter 28 - Pathophysiology of the Peripheral Immune Response in Acute Ischemic Stroke|date=2017-01-01 | title = Primer on Cerebrovascular Diseases | edition = Second |pages=139–145| veditors = Caplan LR, Biller J, Leary MC, Lo EH |place=San Diego|publisher=Academic Press|language=en|isbn=978-0-12-803058-5 }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite journal | vauthors = Louveau A, Smirnov I, Keyes TJ, Eccles JD, Rouhani SJ, Peske JD, Derecki NC, Castle D, Mandell JW, Lee KS, Harris TH, Kipnis J | display-authors = 6 | title = Structural and functional features of central nervous system lymphatic vessels | journal = Nature | volume = 523 | issue = 7560 | pages = 337–41 | date = July 2015 | pmid = 26030524 | pmc = 4506234 | doi = 10.1038/nature14432 | bibcode = 2015Natur.523..337L | url = }}</ref>
=== 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.<ref name=":22422"/>
The deep cervical lymph nodes serve as the principal drainage site for both lymphatic fluid and cerebrospinal fluid carried by the meningeal lymphatic vessels of the central nervous system, making them the primary site of immune surveillance for CNS-derived antigens.<ref>Zhang, Q., Niu, Y., Li, Y. et al. Meningeal lymphatic drainage: novel insights into central nervous system disease. Sig Transduct Target Ther 10, 142 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-025-02177-z</ref>
=== Efferents === Efferents of the deep cervical lymph nodes form the ipsilateral jugular trunk.<ref name=":22422" />
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Lymphatics of head and neck}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deep Cervical Lymph Nodes}} Category:Lymphatics of the head and neck
{{Lymphatic-stub}}