Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

Lymph nodes are very important immune organs in the body and are distributed almost throughout the body. Lymph node enlargement is the most common lesion of lymph nodes. The main cause of swollen lymph nodes in the neck due to a cold is not a cold, the most likely factor is infection. For swollen lymph nodes in the neck, we need to find out the cause and treat it from the root so that we can control the disease.

Causes of swollen lymph nodes in the neck include infectious (inflammatory) swelling, tumor swelling, reactive hyperplasia and histiocytic hyperplasia.

1. Inflammatory swelling

When acute or chronic lymph node infections are caused by bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, chlamydia, fungi, spirochetes, protozoa, worms, etc., the lymph nodes may become congested and edematous, with proliferation of lymphocytes and macrophages, infiltration of neutrophils, monocytes and plasma cells, and even necrosis and granuloma formation, causing enlargement of the lymph nodes and pain.

2. Tumorous enlargement

Whether it is an endogenous tumor originating from the lymphatic tissue, such as lymphoma, lymphocytic leukemia, etc., or a tumor metastasized from outside the lymph nodes, such as oral cancer metastasized to the cervical lymph nodes, nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasized to the cervical lymph nodes, gastric cancer metastasized to the left supraclavicular lymph nodes, etc., it can manifest as unrestricted tumor cells proliferating in large numbers in the lymph nodes, occupying and destroying the normal tissue structure of the lymph nodes, and at the same time causing hyperplasia of fibrous tissue and infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lymph nodes, leading to lymph node enlargement.

3. Reactive hyperplasia

It includes two types: nonspecific reactive lymphocytic hyperplasia and immune reactive hyperplasia. It is mostly caused by biological factors (bacteria, viruses, etc.), chemical factors (drugs, environmental toxins, metabolic toxic products, etc.) and allergic stimulation, which cause the reactive proliferation of lymphocytes and monocytes and macrophages in the lymph nodes, manifested as enlargement of lymph follicles, hyperplasia of parafollicular lymphocytes, necrotic hyperplasia, leading to lymph node enlargement.

4. Histiocytic hyperplasia

There is a large amount of tissue cell proliferation in the lymph nodes, which is distributed in a lamellar, focal or diffuse manner, and granulomas may also form, such as Langerhan histiocytosis. In addition, the accumulation of a large number of Niemann-Pickz cells and Gautier cells in the lymph nodes can also cause lymph node enlargement.