Lateral retropharyngeal lymph nodes
Lymphonodi retropharyngei laterales
Definition
The topography of the lateral retropharyngeal lymph nodes varies with species.
It is rarely missing in the cat and only present in 1 out of 3 dogs. It is located at the ventral border of the wing of the atlas, against the dorsal border of the mandibular gland, under the base of the ear.
The lateral retropharyngeal lymph nodes are superficial in the horse and cow. In the horse, there are eight to 15 of them and they form a trail at the caudal border of the guttural pouch, below the caudal part of the mandibular gland. In the cow, it is single, oval and flattened, palpable under the edge of the atlas wing, at the caudal edge of the mandibular gland.
The lateral retropharyngeal lymph nodes drain, together with the medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes, all the deep planes of the head (including the pharynx, the base of the tongue, the tonsils, the caudal part of the nasal cavities) and the cranial part of the neck. In the horse, they drain the guttural pouches.
References
Barone R, 2011. Anatomie Comparée des Mammifères Domestiques, Tome 5 Angiologie. Vigot, Paris.
