Delphian lymph node
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At the time the article was created Frank Gaillard had no recorded disclosures.
View Frank Gaillard's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Henry Atkinson had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Henry Atkinson's current disclosures- Delphian lymph node
- Precricoid node
- Precricoid lymph node
- Prelaryngeal node
- Prelaryngeal lymph node
- Delphian node
The Delphian (prelaryngeal/precricoid) lymph node (often shortened to Delphian node) is one of the cervical lymph node groups that comprise level VI cervical lymph nodes and is not routinely excised in radical neck dissections, increasing the importance of alerting surgeons to the presence of metastases in this location.
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Gross anatomy
The Delphian lymph node is located between the cricothyroid muscles, above the thyroid isthmus, lying directly anterior to the cricothyroid membrane 2,3. It receives lymph from the thyroid gland (mainly the upper poles) and the larynx 3.
History and etymology
The Delphian node was named in 1948 by Dr Randall B. Raymond, then a Harvard medical student, who theorized the importance of metastases in this nodal group in predicting a poor outcome and made an analogy with the Oracle of Delphi, whose prophecy, in this case, would be of death secondary to laryngeal cancer 5.
Related pathology
Involvement of this node can be as a result of diffuse nodal involvement in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or in isolation from direct lymphatic spread of laryngeal cancer through the anterior commissure. Thyroid carcinomas may also involve this node, in which case it usually signifies disease spread to the central and lateral cervical lymph nodes 3,4.
Quiz questions
References
- 1. Josef E. Fischer, Kirby I. Bland, Mark P. Callery. Mastery of Surgery. (2006) ISBN: 9780781771658 - Google Books
- 2. Marco Lucioni. Practical Guide to Neck Dissection. (2013) ISBN: 9783642339776 - Google Books
- 3. Isaacs J, Lundgren C, Sidhu S, Sywak M, Edhouse P, Delbridge L. The Delphian Lymph Node in Thyroid Cancer. Ann Surg. 2008;247(3):477-82. doi:10.1097/SLA.0b013e31815efdc4 - Pubmed
- 4. Oh E, Chung Y, Lee Y. Clinical Significance of Delphian Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. World J Surg. 2013;37(11):2594-9. doi:10.1007/s00268-013-2157-8 - Pubmed
- 5. Chen Y, Wang Y, Li C, Zhang X, Fu Y. Meta-Analysis of the Effect and Clinical Significance of Delphian Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Cancer. Front Endocrinol. 2024;14:1295548. doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1295548
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