A swollen area in front of the ear in a patient with ear pain most likely involves which lymph node?

• A. Preauricular
• B. Submandibular
• C. Jugulodigastric
• D. Superficial cervical

Answer: (A)

Lymphatic drainage patterns of the head and neck explain why this swelling points to preauricular nodes. The area in front of the ear, including the external ear and nearby temporal region, drains primarily to the preauricular lymph nodes. When there is ear pain or infection, the lymph from that inflamed tissue is filtered first by these nodes, causing them to enlarge. The other nodes have different drainage territories—submandibular nodes handle much of the midface and oral region, jugulodigastric nodes drain the pharynx and tonsillar area, and superficial cervical nodes drain the skin of the neck—so their enlargement would point to different sites of infection.