Axillary lymph nodes

Axillary lymph nodes
Lymphatics of the breast and the axillary glands
  1. Axillary lymphatic plexus
  2. Cubital lymph nodes (not part of the lymph node drainage of the breast)
  3. Superficial axillary (low axillary)
  4. Deep axillary lymph nodes
  5. Brachial axillary lymph nodes
  6. Interpectoral axillary lymph nodes (Rotter nodes)
  7. Paramammary or intramammary lymph nodes
  8. Parasternal lymph nodes (internal mammary nodes)
Details
SystemLymphatic system
Drains fromAxilla
Identifiers
Latinnodi lymphoidei axillares
TA98A13.3.01.002
TA25236
FMA12771
Anatomical terminology

The axillary lymph nodes or armpit lymph nodes are lymph nodes in the human armpit. Between 20 and 49 in number, they drain lymph vessels from the lateral quadrants of the breast, the superficial lymph vessels from thin walls of the chest and the abdomen above the level of the navel, and the vessels from the upper limb. They are divided in several groups according to their location in the armpit. These lymph nodes are clinically significant in breast cancer, and metastases from the breast to the axillary lymph nodes are considered in the staging of the disease.[1]

  1. ^ Longo, D; Fauci, A; Kasper, D; Hauser, S; Jameson, J; Loscalzo, J (2012). Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine (18th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 757–759. ISBN 978-0071748896.