Retropharyngeal lymph node

Retropharyngeal lymph nodes
1: Submental lymph nodes 2: Submandibular lymph nodes 3: Supraclavicular lymph nodes 4: Retropharyngeal lymph nodes 5: Buccal lymph nodes 6: Superficial cervical lymph nodes 7: Jugular lymph nodes 8: Parotid lymph nodes 9: Retroauricular lymph nodes & occipital lymph nodes
Lymphatics of pharynx. (Retropharyngeal glands labeled at center top.)
Details
Drains to	superior deep cervical lymph nodes
Latin	Nodi lymphoidei retropharyngei
Anatomical terminology []

The retropharyngeal lymph nodes, from one to three in number, lie in the buccopharyngeal fascia, behind the upper part of the pharynx and in front of the arch of the atlas, being separated, however, from the latter by the Longus capitis.

Their afferents drain the nasal cavities, the nasal part of the pharynx, and the auditory tubes.

Their efferents pass to the superior deep cervical glands.

They are in the retropharyngeal space.

They frequently disappear by age 4-5. (This is why retropharyngeal abscess is rare in older children.)

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 694 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)