Lymph nodes are structures that belong to the immune system, which are shaped like small rounded balls, which are found throughout the body and are joined through the lymphatic vessels. Their main function is to act as filters or traps in order to detect foreign particles.
The nodes are made up of white blood cells, which use oxygen in the filtration process. They have great importance within for the correct functioning of the immune system. In addition, they have clinical importance, since they can be inflamed or lengthened by a variety of conditions, including trivial disorders, such as a throat infection, or life-threatening pathologies such as cancer.
In the case of cancer, the status of the lymph nodes is of great importance since they are used to verify the stage in which the cancer is, thus determining the treatment to be used and at the same time the prognosis of the pathology. In addition to the above, their state can also be determined using the biopsy whenever they are inflamed.
A lymph node can be said to be an organized collection of lymphoid tissue, through which lymph is passed on its way back to the blood. These structures are found at intervals throughout the lymphatic system. Some afferent lymphatic vessels carry the lymph, which is filtered through the substance of the lymph node, and is drained by an efferent lymphatic vessel.
This substance is composed of lymphoid follicles in its external part, which is called the cortex and contains the lymphoid follicles, it also has an internal portion known as the medulla, which is surrounded by the cortex, except for a portion a what is known as hilum. The latter represents a depression on the surface of the lymph nodes, which gives it the characteristic bean shape of the node. For its part, the efferent lymphatic vessel develops directly from this area. While the arteries and veins that keep the lymph nodes irrigated enter and exit through the hilum.
