The lymph nodes in the neck play a role in immunity and filtration of lymphatic fluids. Enlargement of unilateral lymph nodes in the neck usually indicates lymphatic hyperfunction and tissue hyperplasia after stimulation, resulting in enlargement. Common causes of unilateral lymph node enlargement in the neck include inflammation, tumor and tissue cell proliferation.
1. Inflammatory enlargement: enlargement of unilateral lymph nodes in the neck is often caused by inflammation around the lymphatic tissues, such as otitis media, which causes lymph node inflammation, stimulates the lymphatic tissues to play the immune function, resulting in lymphatic tissue congestion and edema, hyperfunction, which leads to the unilateral lymph node hyperplasia and accompanied by pressure pain.
2. Tumor: unilateral lymph node enlargement in the neck can also be caused by tumor. Whether the tumor is originated from lymphatic tissues, such as lymphoma, or metastatic tumor, such as gastric cancer metastasized to left supraclavicular lymph node or lung cancer metastasized to right supraclavicular lymph node, it will lead to massive proliferation of tumor cells in unilateral lymph nodes, resulting in enlarged lymph nodes.
3. Histiocyte hyperplasia: unilateral lymph node enlargement in the neck may also result in lymph node enlargement due to massive histiocyte sheet or focal proliferation, such as Langerhans histiocytosis.
Overall, after the appearance of unilateral neck lymph node enlargement, you need to be admitted to the hospital in time for examination, to clarify the benign and malignant nature of the lymph node swelling and the etiology of the disease, to prevent the disease from spreading and proliferation, and to carry out targeted treatment, and if necessary, surgical treatment.