title: Determining the number of intraparotid lymph nodes: postmortem examination.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The parotid gland is one of the metastatic drainage areas for malignant tumours of the head and neck area. In this study, we aimed to define the accurate number and distribution of intraparotid lymph nodes in the 84 glands of 42 fresh cadavers for implementing the data for the clinical practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Bilateral total parotidectomies were performed. The lobes were separated, fixed with formalin, cut into thick slices, embedded in paraffin and serially sectioned. 2 μm thick sections were stained and examined histopathologically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No nodes were found in 4 of 84 superficial parotid lobes and in 58 of 84 deep parotid lobes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sentinel lymph node biopsy failure may be related to the absence of intraparotid lymphoid tissue. Although the superficial intraparotid lymph nodes are a first echelon of head and neck tumours, involvement of these does not allow us to exclude the possibility of involvement of the deep lobes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Bezmialem Medical School, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: selmasonmezergun@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Selma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sönmez Ergün
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozcan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gayretli
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Bezmialem Medical School, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nur
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Büyükpınarbaşılı
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Bezmialem Medical School, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kemalettin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yıldız
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ilke Ali
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Gürses
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avşar
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavlak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002102:Cadaver; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008297:Male; D008867:Microtomy / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D016612:Paraffin Embedding / Q000379:methods; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes
keywords: Intraparotid lymph nodes; Parotidectomy; Postmortem examination; Sentinel lymph node biopsy