Lymph Vessels of the Cheek

The lymph vessels of the cheek, including all associated structures (skin, muscles, mucous membrane, ventral cheek glands), drain to the mandibular lymph nodes (see Figure 13). The lymph vessels of the mucous membrane of the cheek penetrate the cheek muscles at various points and join the lymph vessels of the skin of the cheek. The dorsal cheek glands of the dog are in the orbit and are called zygomatic glands (Figure 14: i). These lymph vessels drain to the mandibular lymph nodes, emerging to a lesser extent on the lateral and mostly on the medial side of the gland (Figure 14: 1’’) and joining with the lymph vessels of the hard and soft palate, which run around the maxillary tuberosity (tuber maxillae) or the last molar to the medial side of the M. masseter (Figure 14: 1’) and then to the mandibular lymph nodes. The lymph vessels of the zygomatic glands were examined in 4 dogs, and in 2 of the dogs on both sides: in none of these cases were lymph vessels draining to the medial retropharyngeal lymph node found.