Found inside deer

[Tracker55]

Last weekend I shot a small buck I guess to be about a year and a half. When we started boning it out we found several black lumps that resembled kidney beans near the deers throat. I've boned out quite a few deer over the years but I've never seen this before. Anyone have any idea what it might be?

[RangerJack]

Did you track it for a while? They could've been the start to some blood clots.

[fr0sty]

I had something similar on my buck. They were in the front of the neck in the meat. To me they looked kind of like big ticks or small brown beans or something.

I did a little google searching but didn't find anything.

[Tracker55]

No. It went down right away. The bean like lumps were nearly as hard as beans. I cut one open and it was hard all the way through.

[Tracker55]

That sounds exactly like what i found. I can't find anything online either. Is it anything to be concerned about?

[fr0sty]

Mine went down right away too but we didnt' skin it until the next day. I didn't keep that portion of the neck meat, but plan on eating all the rest.

[zepman]

I cut up my buck tonight and found a few of the same things...never seen them before. Your description is spot on...looks like a little kidney bean.

Found them in the neck region also.

[Sturg]

Sounds like lymph nodes. Were they actually encased in muscle or between seams in the muscl? The deer may of had an infection of some sort. They are usually light brown in color but can darken with an infection.

[not_nuf_time]

The ones I found were imbedded in the seams of the meat on the front underside of neck. Looked like ugly big woodticks but as mentioned ealier more like kidney beans.

[TRZ II]

I found a 3 inch stick grown into the flesh of the leg on the big buck I shot this year. It was a 200 pound, 5 1/2 yr old deer. I can't imagine how much that must have hurt to get that stuck in there and then have to walk with it.

[fr0sty]

Looks like we have a winner.(Thanks Sturg!) These particular ones are called "hemal nodes".

Google search "deer lymph nodes" and the first link goes to the Michican dnr HSOforum. I believe url posting here is verboten, so I will cut and past the text below (along with an image).

Below text and image is courtesy of the Michigan dnr HSOforum.

When deer hunters are field dressing and butchering their harvested animals, there are 2 normal anatomical structures that are commonly seen and often cause concern for the hunter. These 2 structures are lymph nodes and hemal nodes (or hemolymph nodes).

Lymph nodes occur throughout the body but the one most commonly seen and submitted is the subscapular lymph node that is usually located in a mass of fat behind the shoulder blade. Lymph nodes are normally gray, yellowish brown, or tan in color, oval in shape, and appear slimy. Lymph nodes have the general appearance of a raw oyster. It is not uncommon for a hunter to have killed and butchered several deer in his/her lifetime and never to have seen a lymph node. Because of this, it does cause concern in these individuals when they do cut across a lymph node, and it is at that time they often submit tissues for examination.

Hemal nodes usually occur in the fat that lies along the vertebrae of the neck, near where the trachea is found. Hemal nodes may also occur in the abdominal cavity in the fat located along the vertebrae near the tenderloins. These nodes are numerous in ruminants (deer, elk, cattle, sheep), occur in small numbers in canids (dogs, coyotes, wolves), and are absent in many other animal species. Hemal nodes are usually ovoid (being larger than a pea), maroon or black in color, and may be either solid or fluid-filled. They resemble a very small spleen or blood clot, and are also called accessory spleens. Hemal nodes are very prominent and, as a result, many hunters see them, are concerned that they are diseased tissue, and submit samples for examination.

Both lymph and hemal nodes are filtering organs that are closely associated with the circulatory system. Abscesses have been observed in lymph nodes but have not been seen in hemal nodes. Abscesses are encapsulated pockets of purulent material (pus) that form due to bacterial invasions.

Sounds like lymph nodes. Were they actually encased in muscle or between seams in the muscl? The deer may of had an infection of some sort. They are usually light brown in color but can darken with an infection.

[JBone]

Good info, never seen this but now I know

[Beast26]

Sounds like nodes to me.

[Tracker55]

This is exactly what I found. Thanks for the great information. I've never seen anything like this before, but now I know what it is and can sound intellegent if anyone asks. Thanks.

[Beast26]

The back legs and front legs also have them in them. You won't see them unless you cut into the fat when trimming the meat up good.

The funniest thing I have ever found was an part of an arrow imbedded in the front should. It had been there for over a year.

[GFNER]

Found a broadhead in the back of a nice buck once. Skin had healed over it but under the hide was like a big abscess full of mush. Must of kept some unlucky bowhunter up a few nights, was a nice buck. Not to change the subject but I found a small sac of fluid in the throat while cleaning a doe that had hung overnight, looked just like urine but had no smell, any idea what that was? Had a CWD test done on her the day before was just wondering if it had something to do with it.

[elkhuntingfan]

Add part of the meat, some tomato, tomato sauce, chili powder and cumin. Cook it up. If it tastes like chili, maybe they are kidney beans.