Lymphadenopathy

Lymphadenopathy
Other names	Adenopathy, swollen lymph nodes, swollen glands
A CT scan of axillary lymphadenopathy in a 57-year-old man with multiple myeloma.
Specialty	Infectious disease, oncology
Symptoms	Fever; Hard, fixed, rapidly growing nodes, indicating a possible cancer or lymphoma; night sweats; runny nose; sore throat
Causes	Infections; autoimmune diseases; malignancies; histiocytoses; storage diseases; benign hyperplasia; drug reactions
Risk factors	Back pain; constipation; urinary frequency
Diagnostic method	CT scan; MRI scan; ultrasound

Lymphadenopathy or adenopathy is a disease of the lymph nodes, in which they are abnormal in size or consistency. Lymphadenopathy of an inflammatory type (the most common type) is lymphadenitis,^[1] producing swollen or enlarged lymph nodes. In clinical practice, the distinction between lymphadenopathy and lymphadenitis is rarely made and the words are usually treated as synonymous. Inflammation of the lymphatic vessels is known as lymphangitis.^[2] Infectious lymphadenitis affecting lymph nodes in the neck is often called scrofula.

Lymphadenopathy is a common and nonspecific sign. Common causes include infections (from minor causes such as the common cold and post-vaccination swelling to serious ones such as HIV/AIDS), autoimmune diseases, and cancer. Lymphadenopathy is frequently idiopathic and self-limiting.