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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1995;109:402-403
© 1995 Mosby, Inc.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The location of station 11 pulmonary lymph nodes

Professor Emeritus of Surgery
Northwestern University Medical School
Chicago, IL 60611-2950

To the Editor:

Anatomically, station 11 pulmonary lymph nodes are described by Naruke ¹ as interlobar and are present between the lobar bronchi in either lung. These nodes are originally described by Rouviere ² as being present in the angle between the upper and middle lobe bronchi on the right. These were termed the "superior interlobar nodes." The "inferior interlobar nodes" are located below the middle lobe bronchus, lie between it and the lower lobe bronchus, and are also referred to as station 11 lymph nodes. In the left lung the lymph nodes in station 11 lie in the angle between the left upper lobe and lower lobe bronchi. Rouvière ² termed these nodes the "left interlobarlymph nodes." Borrie ³ referred to these superior interlobar nodes as the "sump nodes" of the right lung and the interlobar nodes as the sump nodes of the left lung. It is thus difficult to accept inclusion of the lymph nodes of station 11 as being hilar nodes, which are typically described as being along either main stem bronchus. Unfortunately, Yano and his colleagues ³ have considered station 11 nodes as hilar nodes in their recent publication. Unless these aforementioned authors have a compelling, rational explanation for the inclusion of the nodes of station 11 with those of station 10 as hilar nodes, the data generated as to the difference in survival and sites of recurrence between those patients with metastatic involvement of "hilar" nodes and those patients with only "lobar" (stations 12 and 13) nodal involvement cannot be accepted without serious reservation.

References

1. Naruke T. Mediastinal lymph node dissection. In: Shields TW, ed. General thoracic surgery. 4th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1994:469-80.
   
2. Rouviere H. Anatomie des lymphatics de le homme. Paris: Masson et Cie, 1932.
   
3. Borrie J. Lung cancer: surgery and survival. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1965.
   
4. Yano T, Yokoyama H, Inoue T, et al. Surgical results and prognostic factors of pathologic N1 disease in non-small-cell carcinoma of the lung: significance of N1 level: lobar or hilar nodes. J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG 1994;107:1398-1402.
   

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This Article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Thomas W. Shields Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Shields, T. W. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Shields, T. W.