Table 3.

Anatomy - lymph node drain

Lymph node regions	Subgroups	Anatomic site	Influx	Efflux	Figure
LN parotidei profundi	LN preauriculares	ventral of the auricle	external auditory canal	(partially over the LN parotidei superficiales)	2
	LN intraparotidei	medial of the parotid gland	tympanic cavity
	LN infraparotidei	dorsocaudal of the parotid gland	parotid gland	to the LN ventrales jugulares superiores
			skin of the root of the nose, the cheek, the lateral part of the eyelid and conjunctiva
LN parotidei superficiales		on the fascia parotidea	skin of the anterior part of the ear, the forehead, the temple, the lateral part of the eyelid and conjunctiva	LN ventrales jugulares superiores	2
LN retroauriculares ( = LN mastoidei)		lateral of the mastoid process	skin of the posterior part of the ear, the region around the mastoid process, parietal part of the scalp and from the cellulae mastoideae.	LN ventrales jugulares superiores	4
LN occipitales		at the linea nuchae superior	skin at the occipital scalp	LN dorsal jugulares superiores	4
				LN cervicales laterales superficiales
LN submentales		ventral between the two venter of the musculus digastricus	tip of tongue	LN submandibulares	3
			floor of the mouth	LN ventrales jugulares superiores
			laterals of the two front teeth of the mandible
			skin of the lower lip and chin
LN submandibulares		adjacent to the submandibular gland	anterior part of the nasal cavity	LN ventrales jugulares superiores	3
			skin/mucosa of the lips/cheek, palate, teeth, gingiva, lateral tongue and floor of the mouth
			skin from the forehead, nose and the medial part of the eyelid and the conjunctiva over inconstant LN faciales (LN buccales)
LN facials (inconstant)		arranged around the V. angularis	skin from the forehead, nose and the medial part of the eyelid and the conjunctiva	LN submandibulares	3
LN dorsales jugulares superiores		medial of the musculus sternocleidomastoideus and dorsal of the jugular vein	LN occipitales	LN ventrales jugulares superiores	4
LN cervicales laterales superficiales		along the external jugular vein, lateral of the musculus sternocleidomastoideus	lower part of the parotid gland	LN jugulares mediales	4
			skin of the caudal part of the ear, the nape and lateral neck
LN retropharyngeales		in the space bounded anteriorly by the pharyngeal constrictors and posteriorly by the prevertebral Fascia, cranially by the base of the skull and caudally to the os hyoideum **	nasopharynx	from cranial to caudal up to the level of the os hyoideum or to the lateral side into the LN ventrales jugulares superiores	5
			dorsal part of the oropharynx
			soft palate
			eustachian tube
			tympanic cavity
			dorsal part of the nasal cavity
LN cervicales anteriores profundi	LN infrahyoidei	located on the membrane hyoidea	cranial half of the larynx	LN jugulares mediales	6-7
	LN prelaryngeales	on the ligamentum cricothyroideum	caudal half of the larynx
	LN pretracheales	at the veins thyroideae inferiors	caudal half of the larynx	LN jugulares mediales and inferiores	6-7
	LN paratracheales	ventral/laterodorsal of the trachea	thyroid gland
	LN thyroidei	at the thyroidea	thyroid gland	LN jugulares mediales and inferiores
LN cervicales anteriores superficiales		around the vein jugularis anteriores	ventral skin of the neck	LN pre- or paratracheales	7
				LN jugulares inferiores
LN cervicales posteriores profundi		in the neck region caudal of the LN occipitales	neck region	LN supraclaviculares	8
LN supraclaviculares		between the M. omohyoideus and the clavicular	caudal neck	sometimes over the venous jugulo-subclavian confluent or the thoracic duct on the left side and the lymphatic duct on the right side, to the angulus venosus [13,14].	8
			pharynx region
			trachea
			esophagus
			LN mediastinales anteriores
			LN axillares profundi

**We defined the retropharyngeal level analogically to Grégoire et al. [7] and Feng et al. [27].