Lymphadenopathy:
Localized, generalized, and persistent generalized Lymphadenopathies are diseases of swollen or enlarged lymph nodes, that may be caused by infections, malignancies, or auto-immune diseases, when an organ in the body fails to recognize its own parts and allows immune responses against its cells and tissues, such as Diabetes Mellitus Type I or Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Enlarged lymph nodes are common reactions to acute bacterial or viral infections, or to chronic ailments such as Tuberculous Lymphadenitis, with granulomatous inflammations and necrosis, that can replace lymphatic tissues.
Tumor Reactions:
Tumor Reactions may be Primary Lymphandenopathies caused by diseases, such as Hodgkins Lymphoma and Hairy Cell Lukemia, that may produce the ailment in all lymph nodes in the body. Tumor reactions can also be Secondary reactions caused by such things as the most common extracranial solid cancer of childhood, and the most common cancer of infancy, known as Neuroblastoma, the enlarged, hard left supraclavicular Virehow’s lymph node, or metastasis.
Autoimmune Causes:
Autoimmune ailments such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sarcoidosis granulomas of the lungs and lymph nodes, and the chain connective tissue disease Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, produce generalized Lymphandenopathy, which is also an early infection sign of HIV, the first symptomatic stage of AIDS.
Lymphandenopathy can be caused by the bites of several venomous snakes including cobras, black mambas, kraits, coral snakes, tiger snakes, death adders, and Australian brown snakes.
Distinct Patterns:
Three distinct patterns are known to exist for benign Lymphandenopathy, and are known as the follicular hyperplasia of infections and autoimmune diseases located just beneath the lymph node’s capsule, the viral infections and skin disorders of paracostical hyperplasia, and sinus histocytosis lymph nodes found in draining limbs, inflamed lesions, and malignancies.
Bilateral Hair Lymphandenopathy:
Bilateral Hair Lymphandenopathy of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes in the thorax cavity, containing the heart, the great vessels of the heart, the trachea, the esophogus, the cardiac nerve, the phrenic nerve, the thymus, the thoratic duct, and the central chest, can be caused by such things as Tuberculosis, Mycoplasmas with no cell walls that are unaffected by many antibiotics, carcinomas, Lymphoma, Siliosis Lung Disease, Berylliosis Lung Disease associated with long term exposure to fluorescent lights and missile silos, Extrinsic Allergic Alveolitis of the lungs caused by hypersensitivity to inhaled organic dust, Pneumoconiosis Lung Disease caused by dust inhalation, Churg-Strauss Syndrome of blood vessels of the lungs that begins as a severe type of asthma, and Adult Onset Still’s Disease of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Examinations:
Physical examinations, and a three week to one month observation period, may be required for patients with localized Lymphandenopathy and a benign clinical study. A biopsy of the most abnormal lymph node, based on such things as the size, consistency, pain, tenderness, number of lymph nodes, matting or group of lymph nodes that feel connected or move as one unit, and location of the lymph node, will best allow the correct diagnosis to be made for Lymphandenopathy,
Previously: The Universal Lymphedema Of Newborns.
Next Time: Lymphangiosarcoma.
