Introduction
The lymph glands, also called lymph nodes, are the filter stations of the lymphatic system in the human body. The lymph fluid to be transported is produced outside the body cells as a filtrate of the blood and transports nutrients, salts and also potential pathogens. The lymph nodes are interposed between the lymphatic system, which can activate the immune system and also eat and thus render harmless pathogens such as bacteria or cells infected by viruses.
Lymph gland swelling, in general, can occur either as part of a local inflammation or due to a threatening systemic disease. If an inflammation takes place in a part of the body, the lymph nodes filter the lymphatic fluid produced and swell due to the confrontation with the pathogens or particles that have entered. In general, if a lymph node is acutely painfully enlarged and there is also evidence of a local or body infection, it can be said that it is usually a benign process. If the swelling of the lymph glands occurs gradually and without pain, and if no connection to an infection can be established, a threatening disease should be considered.
Causes of lymph node swelling
One roughly divides the lymph gland swellings, depending on their cause, into benign and malignant ones. Benign causes are local inflammations and infections that affect the entire body. For example, if one suffers from tonsillitis, one can clearly feel the swollen and painful lymph nodes in the neck area.
Here, the two criteria that indicate a benign event are fulfilled, on the one hand the painful enlargement and on the other hand the locally occurring inflammation. This is a normal and important function of our body to defend against pathogens. Degenerate cells in the body, these can also move through the lymphatic system. Thus, it is not uncommon for lymph node involvement to occur in the context of cancer. These can either originate from the lymph node and are referred to as lymphoma, or tumor cells have migrated from the actual cancer area via the lymphatic system into the lymph nodes, in which case they are referred to as lymph node metastases.
