Virchow's node

In medicine (oncology), Virchow's node is an enlarged, hard, leftsupraclavicular lymph node which can contain metastasis of visceral malignancy. It is named after Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902), the German pathologist who first described the association.

Malignancies of the internal organs can reach an advanced stage before giving symptoms. Stomach cancer, for example, can remain symptomless while metastatizing. One of the first visible spots where these tumors metastatise is the left supraclavicular lymph node. The left supraclavicular node is the classical Virchow's node because it is on the left side of the neck that the lymphatic drainage of most of the body enters the venous circulation into the left subclavian vein.

Differential diagnosis of an enlarged Virchow's node includes lymphoma and infection (e.g. of the arm).