The Medial Retropharyngeal Lymph Nodes (MRPLN) lie deep and between the base of the larynx (windpipe) and the floor of the skull.  They are "buried" in an area of whitish connective tissue on either side of the pharynx and upper neck and jaw musculature.

1. Wearing protective clothing and equipment (gloves, disposable respirator and goggles/glasses) place the deer/elk head upside down with the nose pointing away from you on a clean disinfected surface. It is a good idea if you are going to collect tissues from more then one head to use plastic sheeting, Styrofoam dishes, or some other clean, disposable material on top of the working surface to avoid cross-contamination and for easier clean up.
   
   
   
   With a medium-sized boning type knife make an incision from above the middle of the skull base above the foramen magnum, upward to the surface through the skin if not skinned (Cut 1). Make a secondcut (Cut 2) extending from where the first cut began staying close to the base of the skull and moving the knife to the right as if you were boning out the tissue.  The third cut also starts at the same spot above the foramen magnum and goes to the left staying close to the skull.
   
   
   
2. After the 3 cuts are made an area of white connective tissue and fat will be noticed on each side of the opening made as indicated by the pink-lined boxes in the photograph.
   
    
   
3. Bluntly dissect out the lymph nodes buried in the white connective tissue using your gloved-fingers and/or a pair of scissors.  The beige-colored, firm nodular MRPLN’s are encapsulated in the white fibrous tissue and are fairly large. They are visible in the above photos outlined by a pink box and with the scissors pointing them out.
   
   
   
    
   
4. After exposing and isolating each left and right MRPLN, remove and place them in a sample jar of 10% BN formalin.   Once again always be sure that the tissues are submerged in the formalin.  The MRPLN’s can be in the same bottle as the brainstem sample. Properly label the bottle as noted in "Identification and Submission Forms" section.  It is best to pre-label and write all the information known on the bottles before collection and finish identification prior to adding tissues. Doing this will make it easier to write the information needed on the label and lid before they get wet and soiled while collecting tissues.