What causes swollen lymph glands?
During our lives most of us have already experienced swollen glands. Often, when glands swell, they become enlarged and even painful to the touch or during movement. The real question is, what causes glands to swell? To understand this, we have to know where our glands are and what they do for our bodies. Lymph glands are a part of the body’s lymphatic system. The lymphatic system and lymph glands is complex network of vessels, nodes and organs. The lymphatic system helps to maintain the fluid environment, filtering, transporting, and producing the liquid called lymph. The lymphatic system is spread out throughout the entire body, just as the blood system is. Some of the more common areas of the body where the lymph nodes can actually be palpated or felt include the neck, the armpits, and the groin area. The lymph nodes of our lymphatic system are very important to us and our health, playing an important part in the body’s defense against infections. Swelling of the lymph nodes may occ