Anatomy study note · Upper limb
Axillary lymph nodes
About 20–30 nodes in the axillary fat, in six groups, that drain the upper limb, the breast and the trunk wall above the umbilicus.
Key points
- 6 groups: anterior, posterior, lateral, central, apical, infraclavicular.
- Anterior (pectoral) = breast.
- Apical receives all → subclavian trunk → thoracic duct (L) / right lymph duct (R).
- Examine with the hand pressed on the hip.
- Lymph sacs → lymph nodes (except cisterna chyli).
- Breast cancer → axillary nodes.
- Node: cortex (B-cell nodules) / paracortex (T cells, HEVs) / medulla.
The full note in the atlas also covers
Features · Histology · Development · Clinical notes
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Written from
- Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 3, PDF pp. 389–391
- Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 15, PDF pp. 275–276
- BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 12, PDF pp. 223–224; ch. 19, PDF p. 358
More from the upper limb
- Axillary nerve
- Axillary vein
- Basilic vein
- Biceps brachii
- Brachial artery
- Brachial plexus
- Brachialis
- Brachioradialis
- Breast
- Carpal bones
- Cephalic vein
- Clavicle
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