This document outlines the lymphatic drainage of various organs and regions of the body. It lists the organs and regions drained, the lymph nodes they drain to, and the lymphatic ducts that collect the lymph. For example, it states that the head, neck, and palatine tonsils drain to the deep cervical nodes and jugular trunk, while the lungs drain to plexuses of nodes along the bronchi and under the pleurae that drain to the bronchomediastinal trunk. The small intestine is unique in that the fat it absorbs bypasses the nodes and is transported directly in the intestinal trunk as chyle within the lymph.

1. Lymphatic drainage of regions and organs
C. Riedinger 2011
Organ Lymphatic drainage
Nodes Duct
Head, neck Deep cervical nodes Jugular trunk
Palatine tonsils (cranium, larynx, Jugulodigastric nodes (superior deep cervical) Jugular trunk
lower pharynx, thyroid)
Tongue Jugulo-omohyoid nodes (inferior deep cervical) Jugular trunk
Upper limb Axillary (apical) Subclavian trunk
Superior abdominal wall Axillary (pectoral) Subclavian trunk
Trachea Deep cervical and tracheobronchial nodes Subclavian and bronchomediastinal trunk
Lungs Plexuses of nodes along bronchi and under pleurae: Bronchomediastinal trunk
- Superior and inferior tracheobronchial
- mediastinal
Thorax and diaphragm? ? Descending thoracic duct
GI tract Nodes in mesentery to pre-aortic nodes Intestinal trunk to cisterna chyli
Small intestine -* Intestinal trunk
Non-alimentary viscera Para-aortic nodes Intestinal trunk?
(gonads, i.e. testes and ovaries)
Inferior abdominal wall Superficial inguinal nodes Lumbar trunk
Anal canal Superficial inguinal nodes Lumbar trunk
Lower limb Superifial and deep inguinal nodes Lumbar trunk
* The small intestine absorbs fat, which is transported via the lymph and is termed “chyle”. Fat is transported in the form of chylomicrons, which
are too large to be filtered and therefore bypass the nodes!!