What Do Lymph Nodes Do?

Lymph nodes play a crucial role in filtering harmful substances from the lymphatic fluid before it re-enters the bloodstream. As lymph flows through these nodes, they trap and destroy bacteria, viruses, and other foreign particles, including abnormal cells like cancer cells. This filtering process helps to prevent infections and other diseases from spreading throughout the body.

Inside each lymph node, specialized immune cells, such as lymphocytes and macrophages, work diligently to identify and eliminate potential threats. When these cells detect an invader, they trigger an immune response, which can include swelling of the lymph nodes—a sign that your body is fighting off an infection.

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Where Are Lymph Nodes Located?

Lymph nodes are distributed throughout the body, often found in clusters in areas such as the neck, armpits, chest, abdomen, and groin. These strategic locations allow them to efficiently monitor and filter lymphatic fluid from various regions of the body. For example, the lymph nodes in your neck, known as cervical lymph nodes, are particularly active when you're battling a sore throat or a respiratory infection.

Why Are Lymph Nodes Important?

Lymph nodes are essential for maintaining a healthy immune system. They act as the body's first line of defense by identifying and combating pathogens before they can cause serious harm. This makes them a vital part of the body's natural surveillance system. Additionally, the condition of your lymph nodes can provide valuable clues to healthcare professionals about your overall health. Swollen or tender lymph nodes often signal an ongoing immune response, while persistently swollen nodes may indicate more serious conditions, such as lymphoma or other cancers.

The human body has hundreds of lymph nodes. They're most plentiful — and most noticeable — in the neck, armpits, and groin. They're also abundant in the chest and abdomen, where they're observable by imaging tests such as CT or MRI scans.

Sometimes, lymph nodes are called glands (as in: "when I had mono, I had swollen glands in my neck"), but that's not really accurate. Glands such as the thyroid gland produce hormones or other chemicals that have effects elsewhere in the body. That's not what lymph nodes do.

How does lymph reach our lymph nodes?

Lymph is created when plasma, the liquid part of blood, seeps out of tiny blood vessels and flows into connecting channels that link lymph nodes throughout the body. These connecting channels are known as the lymphatic drainage system.

After lymph passes through lymph nodes, it eventually returns to the bloodstream through lymphatic channels.

What do lymph nodes do?

Our lymph nodes scour lymphatic fluid for infection or other potential triggers of illness. If threats are found, white cells called lymphocytes, and other immune cells within the lymph nodes, identify and try to eliminate them.

The main functions of your lymph nodes are:

• detecting and eliminating infectious organisms
• removing abnormal cells, including cancer cells and precancerous cells
• eliminating damaged cells or cell products that might cause illness.

Is it normal for lymph nodes to swell and become painful?

It's normal for lymph nodes to enlarge and become tender when they're doing their job, especially when reacting to an infection. These reactive lymph nodes can become as large as grapes and painful to touch. But that's only temporary: they should return to normal promptly when the infection resolves.

For local infections such as a skin infection or sore throat, the lymph node enlargement is limited to the part of the body near the infection. However, for bodywide infections such as HIV or mononucleosis, lymph node enlargement may be more widespread.

Can disease begin in lymph nodes?

Though they usually function as a helpful part of the immune system, diseases sometimes start in lymph nodes.

Lymphoma is a type of cancer that begins in the lymph nodes or in lymphatic tissue elsewhere in the body (including bone marrow, the spleen, or the intestinal tract). Rare inflammatory conditions can also involve lymph nodes; two examples are Castleman disease and Kikuchi disease.

Infections can affect the lymphatic system. Lymphatic filariasis, a parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes, is a good example.

Imagining a world without lymph nodes brings to mind a scenario where the body's ability to fight infections would be significantly compromised. Lymph nodes are crucial in our immune defense, helping to detect and combat infections. Without them, infections would likely be more severe and persistent. Additionally, infections that might typically be contained in one area could spread more easily throughout the body.

Given the essential role lymph nodes play in maintaining our health, it's surprising how often they are surgically removed. In cases of cancer, particularly breast cancer, one or more lymph nodes may be removed to check for the presence of cancerous cells or to determine if the cancer has spread. Fortunately, because the body contains hundreds of lymph nodes, the removal of a few typically doesn't odd immune function.

However, lymph node removal can sometimes disrupt lymphatic drainage, leading to fluid buildup in surrounding tissues. This can result in chronic swelling, known as lymphedema, which is a common complication following lymph node surgery.