Cystic node

The cystic node^[1][2] (also known as the cystic lymph node,^[3][2] cystic lymph node of Lund,^[3] Lund's node, or Mascagni's lymph node^[4][5][6] and often erroneously referred to as Calot's node^[5][6][7]) is the sentinel lymph node of the gall bladder.^[5][6][7] It is located within the cystohepatic triangle (Calot's triangle).^[8]

The cystic lymph node is situated at the neck of the gallbladder.^[2][4] It is invariably situated lateral to the biliary tree.^[9]

The node receives lymphatic drainage from the gallbladder, cystic duct, hepatic duct, and the superior portion of the common bile duct.^[10] It in turn drains lymph into the hepatic lymph nodes.^[2][4]

It increases in size in cholecystitis and cholangitis;^{[citation needed]} it becomes enlarged in most cases of acute cholecystitis which serendipitously also makes it easier to identify in case of subsequent surgery.^[10]

It is an anatomic landmark and may be removed along with the gallbladder in cholecystectomy.^{[citation needed]} The node can be used as a landmark to prevend iatrogenic injury during surgery in the cystohepatic triangle so as to avoid the bile ducts and other structures of the porta hepatis.^[10]

According to one retrospective study, the node could be identified in about 78% of patients undergoing laproscopic cholecystectomy; of those in whom the node could be identified, the node was related to the cystic artery in ~97% of cases.^[9]

The node is named after Fred Bates Lund (1865-1950), an American surgeon. It was also named after the Italian anatomist and physician, Paolo Mascagni (1752-1815), who first identified the node around 1787.