lymph nodes

Small oval or bean-shaped bodies, up to 2 cm in length, situated in groups along the course of the LYMPH drainage vessels. The nodes have fibrous capsules and are packed with lymphocytes. The main groups of lymph nodes are in the groins, the armpits, the neck, around the main blood vessels in the abdomen, in the MESENTERY and in the central partition of the chest (the MEDIASTINUM). Lymph nodes offer defence against the spread of infection by producing ANTIBODIES, and become involved in the spread of cancer. They can become cancerous, forming LYMPHOMAS.

Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

Lymph nodes

Small, bean-shaped masses of tissue scattered along the lymphatic system that act as filters and immune monitors, removing fluids, bacteria, or cancer cells that travel through the lymph system. Breast cancer cells in the lymph nodes under the arm or in the chest are a sign that the cancer has spread, and that it might recur.

Mentioned in: Anal Cancer, Bites and Stings, Breast Cancer, Cat-Scratch Disease, Cervical Cancer, Colon Cancer, Fibrocystic Condition of the Breast, Hairy Cell Leukemia, Hysterectomy, Laryngeal Cancer, Laryngectomy, Lung Biopsy, Lymph Node Biopsy, Lymphadenitis, Lymphedema, Mediastinoscopy, Radical Neck Dissection, Rectal Cancer

Patient discussion about Lymph nodes

Q. tender protuding lymph node lump rt. arm pit aprox. 1/2" dia. any concerns or recommend treatment necessary?

A. lymph nodes can flare up any time you get infected in the armpit and all the area that it drains. i had it several times and it went away in the same manner that it came. i think that sometimes it caused because of a blockade done by deodorant. so i try to use this Chinese salt stone that doesn't contain aluminum.

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References in periodicals archive

Similarly, the number of metastatic axillary lymph nodes in patients who died was statistically significantly higher than in patients who survived.20 Despite the limited number of patients present in our study,findings suggest that axillary lymph node metastasis and the stage of the disease affect survival significantly.

Male breast cancer: A 10 year retrospective case series in a tertiary care hospital

"When breast cancer is detected early, we can perform a sentinel lymph node biopsy, a targeted procedure in which we focus on removing only the few lymph nodes that are most important in draining the breast.

Lymphedema: Causes, Risk Factors, and Treatment Options: For some breast cancer patients, one type of treatment can cause swelling in their arms and diminish their quality of life

Special stains and deeper levels may help to identify a vascular origin for these deposits, and the pathologist is discouraged from labeling these as positive lymph nodes (Figure 4, A and B).

Data Set for the Reporting of Nodal Excisions and Neck Dissection Specimens for Head and Neck Tumors: Explanations and Recommendations of the Guidelines From the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting

Careful evaluation of level I, II, III axillary lymph nodes including the axillary tail is very important while doing staging ultrasonography.

A PROSPECTIVE TRIAL COMPARING THE ACCURACY BETWEEN ULTRASOUND GUIDED FNAC OF AXILLARY LYMPH NODES AND SENTINEL LYMPH NODE BIOPSY USING METHYLENE BLUE FOLLOWED BY IMPRINT CYTOLOGY IN CLINICALLY NODE NEGATIVE EARLY BREAST CANCERS

Hydrodissection with saline injection was used to separate the target lymph nodes and the adjacent large vessels to avoid the injury of the large vessels.

US-guided core needle biopsy under assistance of hydrodissection to diagnose small lymph node metastases adjacent to cervical large vessels

Upper-thoracic ESCC mainly metastasized to the neck and upper and middle mediastinal lymph nodes, and the extent of its downward mediastinal and abdominal lymph node metastasis decreased.

Effects of lymph node metastasis of thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma on design of radiotherapy target volume

In this report, we present a rare case of rectum cancer with synchronous isolated left external iliac lymph node metastases with invasion of external iliac artery and ureter, with neither regional lymph node metastasis nor distant hematogenous metastasis, for whom a potentially curative operation including distant metastatic lymph node dissection and arterial reconstruction was performed.

Rectal Cancer with Synchronous External Iliac Lymph Node Metastasis Invading the External Iliac Artery and Its Surgical Management: A Case Report/External Iliak Arteri Infiltre Eden Senkron Rektum Kanseri Metastazi; Olgu Sunumu

SLN was identified, by nuclear medicine physician, as a lymph node or a group of lymph nodes exhibiting max number of counts per second.

ACCURACY OF INTRAOPERATIVE RADIONUCLIDE SCINTIGRAPHY FOR DETECTION OF SENTINEL LYMPH NODE USING 99MTC LABELED NANOCOLLOIDS IN EARLY BREAST CARCINOMA

Qualified-close clinical follow-up and the determination of high/low risk factors for malignancy can prevent unnecessary investigation in the diagnosis of enlarged lymph nodes. Growth in lymph nodes usually occurs during the first two weeks of antigenic stimulation and is expected to decrease within 4-6 weeks after the end of the stimulation (3).

Lymphadenopathies: An Annoyance or Not?

Infection: An infection in the body can lead to an increase in white blood cells concentration and cause swelling in lymph nodes of the neck.

Swollen lymph nodes of neck

And the only patients with positive lymph nodes had microinvasive tumors that were associated with relatively large non-invasive tumors (ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS).

Small breast tumours may not need biopsy: Study