Cubital nodes !
The cubital (epitrochlear) nodes sit just above the inner elbow beside the basilic vein; they filter lymph from the little-finger side of the hand and forearm.
Opens in the Durgical app, no sign-up needed.
What it is
One or two nodes just above the medial epicondyle, beside the basilic vein (supratrochlear), and a few deeper at the elbow.
What it does
Filter lymph from the ring and little fingers and the inner forearm, then pass it to the lateral axillary nodes.
Key facts
- Where
- Supratrochlear: 2–3 cm above the medial epicondyle beside the basilic vein; cubital: deep at the elbow
- Drains
- Ring and little fingers; medial (ulnar) hand and forearm
- Into
- Lateral axillary nodes (along the basilic and brachial veins)
Relations
- Course
- Lymph from the ulnar side of the hand climbs the medial forearm with the basilic vein; from the nodes, efferents pierce the deep fascia with the vein and reach the lateral axillary nodes
- Superficial
- Skin and subcutaneous fat
- Deep
- Deep fascia over brachialis and the medial head of the triceps, with the brachial vessels, the median nerve and the ulnar nerve beneath it
- Below
- The medial epicondyle, about 2–4 cm below
How to find it
The examiner holds the person's hand as in a handshake with the elbow bent to about 90° and, with the other hand, feels the groove between biceps and triceps about 2–3 cm above the medial epicondyle (some texts: 3–4 cm).
Common problems
- Felt above the inner elbow when the hand or forearm is infected.
Clinical notes
- Enlarge with infections of the ring and little fingers and the ulnar side of the hand (paronychia, felon, wounds), often with red streaks of lymphangitis up the forearm
- Cat-scratch disease after scratches on the hand or forearm often enlarges these nodes
- Enlarged with other node groups in lymphoma, HIV infection, secondary syphilis and sarcoidosis
- A lump above the medial epicondyle may be a node, a lipoma or a nerve sheath tumour; ultrasound tells them apart
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Where are the supratrochlear (epitrochlear) nodes and how are they examined?
A few centimetres above the medial epicondyle beside the basilic vein; felt in the groove between biceps and triceps with the elbow bent.
Which part of the hand drains to the epitrochlear nodes?
The ring and little fingers and the ulnar side of the hand and forearm.
Into which nodes do the cubital nodes drain?
Into the lateral axillary nodes, along the basilic and brachial veins.
Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.
Its names
- Official Latin (TA2)
- nodi cubitales; nodi supratrochleares TA2 5245
- Official Spanish (DeCS)
- Nódulos linfáticos cubitales
- English (TA2)
- Cubital nodes
- Also called
- supratrochlear nodes · epitrochlear nodes
Related
Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); Anatomía humana (4.ª ed.), tomo 1, cap. 61: Vasos y ganglios linfáticos del miembro superior.
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.