Causes of swollen lymph nodes

Normal superficial lymph nodes in the human body are very small, with a diameter of less than 0.5 cm. The surface is smooth and soft, with no adhesion to the surrounding tissues and no tenderness. When the body is invaded by pathogenic factors, information is transmitted to the lymph nodes. Lymphocytes produce lymphokines and antibodies to effectively kill the pathogenic factors. At the same time, lymphocytes and tissue cells in the lymph nodes reactively proliferate, causing the lymph nodes to swell. The head and neck are rich in lymph nodes, and the neck itself has many lymph nodes. Under pathological and physiological conditions, it can cause lymphoditis of the neck regions.

Causes of swollen cervical lymph nodes The causes of swollen cervical lymph nodes include infectious (inflammatory) swelling, tumor swelling, reactive hyperplasia and histiocytic hyperplasia. 1. Inflammatory swelling When acute and 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. Tumor 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 metastases to the cervical lymph nodes, nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastases to the cervical lymph nodes, gastric cancer metastases to the left supraclavicular lymph nodes, etc., it can be manifested as unrestricted proliferation of tumor cells 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 includes 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 are a large number of histiocytes in the swollen lymph nodes, which are distributed in sheets, focally or diffusely, and granulomas may be formed, 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.

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