Lymph nodes

Looks like

Several hundred small beans along the vessels, grouped in the neck, armpits, belly and groin.

What it does

Filter lymph and are where immune cells meet what they must fight.

Keeping it well

Nothing routine; a node that is hard, growing and painless for over three weeks needs assessment.

Related conditions

• Ebola virus disease
• Endemic fungal infections (histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis)
• HIV infection
• Infectious mononucleosis
• Kaposi sarcoma
• Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis)
• Lymphoedema
• Lymphoma (Hodgkin & non-Hodgkin)
• Melanoma
• Sarcoidosis
• Scrub typhus & rickettsial infections
• Toxoplasmosis & CMV
• Transplant rejection & graft-versus-host disease
• Tuberculosis