Lymphadenectomy is a commonly performed procedure in veterinary medicine and an important factor when developing treatment plans and estimating prognosis for veterinary oncology patients. Despite its importance, guidelines for peripheral lymphadenectomy are infrequently reported within veterinary literature. Our objective was to determine superficial and deep anatomical landmarks to guide lymphadenectomy for three canine peripheral lymphocentrums: superficial cervical, axillary, and superficial inguinal. We hypothesized that every identified lymphocentrum would be located within the bounds of the landmarks, and that there would be no differences in measurements between left versus right lymphocentrums, or male versus female dogs. Superficial landmarks were determined for each lymphocentrum. Bilateral lymphocentrums were dissected in ten fresh/frozen canine cadavers, and distances between lymphocentrums and landmarks were measured. Deep landmarks were recorded for each dissection. Average measurements were used to estimate the position of each lymphocentrum relative to the selected landmarks. Student’s and paired t-tests were used to compare measurements between male/female cadavers, and right/left-sided lymphocentrums, respectively. The proposed superficial and deep surgical landmarks were identified within every cadaver. All lymphocentrums were found within the bounds of their respective, predetermined, anatomical boundaries, bilaterally in every cadaver. Measurements that significantly differed between male/female cadavers or right/left sides (p<0.05) did not impact relative lymphocentrum positions. Primary limitations included small sample size, limited range of cadaver conformations, measurement precision, and potential displacement of LNs during dissection. The findings of this study may help to reduce surgical time and tissue trauma, and maximize nodal identification success during lymphadenectomies.
