Superior mesenteric lymph nodes


The superior mesenteric lymph nodes may be divided into three principal groups:

Mesenteric lymph nodes

The mesenteric lymph nodes or mesenteric glands are one of the three principal groups of superior mesenteric lymph nodes and lie between the layers of the mesentery.
They number from one hundred to one hundred and fifty, and are sited as two main groups:
The ileocolic lymph nodes, from ten to twenty in number, form a chain around the ileocolic artery, but tend to subdivide into two groups, one near the duodenum and the other on the lower part of the trunk of the artery. Where the vessel divides into its terminal branches the chain is broken up into several groups:
The mesocolic lymph nodes are numerous, and lie between the layers of the transverse mesocolon, in close relation to the transverse colon; they are best developed in the neighborhood of the right and left colic flexures.
One or two small glands are occasionally seen along the trunk of the right colic artery and others are found in relation to the trunk and branches of the middle colic artery.

Function

The superior mesenteric glands receive lymph from the jejunum, ileum, cecum, vermiform process, and the ascending and transverse parts of the colon; lymph drains into the preaortic glands.

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