Abstract <p>In a glow discharge sustained by a hollow cathode and a mesh anode, three-dimensional distributions of the parameters of the electron component of the plasma were obtained for the first time using the Langmuir probe method both within the discharge volume and in the post-anode plasma. It was experimentally established that the anode glow formed under the discharge conditions in the present work completely surrounds the anode. A mechanism for plasma formation behind the anode is proposed in which most electrons bypass the anode; thus, there exist curved trajectories of electron motion in the discharge that enable their arrival at the anode from the side opposite to the cathode.</p>