There are mainly three categories of thorax lymph nodes, they are – Mediastinal, Lungs and infra clavicular lymph nodes.
IV. What are the lymph nodes of the Thorax
A. Mediastinal groups of lymph nodes :
The heart, thymus gland, segments of the oesophagus and trachea, and other tissues are located in the mediastinum, which is a division of the thoracic cavity. It is generally separated into four regions for clinical purposes: anterior, middle, posterior, and superior.
There are mainly three types of mediastinal lymph nodes and they are – Upper, lower, and subcarinal mediastinal group of lymph nodes.
- Upper mediastinal group of lymph nodes – These group of lymph nodes are present in the upper part of the mediastinum that is at the middle of the trachea.
- Lower mediastinal group of lymph nodes – These groups are present below the level of trachea in the mediastinum.
- Subcarinal mediastinal group of lymph nodes – The tracheal carina forms a superior boundary for the subcarinal space. Surrounding the carina there are presence of lymph nodes, they are called as subcarinal lymph nodes.
B. Groups of lymph nodes in Lungs :
Throughout the lungs, there are presence of different lymph nodes, and they are :
- Bronchial group of lymph nodes – These are present inside the bronchus of the trachea.
- Hilar group of lymph nodes – This group of lymph nodes are present at the hilar region of the lung.
- Supra clavicular group of lymph nodes – These group of lymph nodes are present at the supra clavicular region.
C. Infra clavicular groups of lymph nodes :
The clavicle and the neighbouring borders of the deltoid and larger pectoral muscles form a triangle depression. triangle infraclavicular
The infraclavicular that is between the pectoralis major and deltoid muscle, right below the collar bone, one or two deltopectoral lymph nodes (or infraclavicular nodes) are found beside the cephalic vein. They are located along the arm’s external collecting trunks.