Arterial supply to the lumbar lymph nodes in man

The arteries supplying the lumbar lymph nodes were investigated in 39 cadavers. In the upper region (L2), a branch of the testicular or ovarian artery predominated and supplied the right and left para-aortic nodes. In the middle region (L3), unpaired slender vessels originated directly from the aorta above or below the inferior mesenteric artery and passed to the pre-aortic and, rarely, the right para-aortic nodes. In the lower region (L4), tiny vessels passed from the ventrolateral and/or lateral part of the aorta to the lower para-aortic, pre-caval and lateral caval nodes and, further, gave off twigs to the ureter and muscles. The slender branches which originated from the abdominal aorta showed a segmental pattern, though incomplete, and it is suggested that these remnants are vestiges of ventral and lateral segmental arteries in the young embryo.