Have you ever experienced swollen lymph nodes when you were sick? Why might this happen?

Yes, swollen lymph nodes are more common than some might think.

Explanation:

The medical terms for swollen lymph nodes are adenopathy or lymphadenopathy.

Lymph nodes play a vital role in fighting off sickness in the body. They act as a filter, trapping bacteria and viruses before they can spread too far.

Lymph nodes typically swell up as a response to bacteria or viruses. Though cancer can be a factor in swelling, it is very rare. Most commonly they are felt right below the corner of the jaw, in the neck. Yet, they are not only in the neck; they are all throughout the body. When they are swollen, they might feel tender or even painful.

an individual’s sex (i.e., whether they are a male or female) is determined by the sex chromosomes. most people have two sex chromosomes, one that is inherited from their mother and one that is inherited from their father. typically, females have two x chromosomes (xx) and males have one x chromosome and one y chromosome (xy). conditions caused by changes (“mutations”) in genes located on the x chromosome are considered x-linked.

x-linked recessive inheritance

most x-linked conditions are recessive. this means that in a person with two x chromosomes (most females), both copies of a gene (i.e., one on each x chromosome) must have a change or mutation whereas in a person with one x chromosome (most males), only one copy of a gene must have a mutation. a female with a mutation in one copy of a gene on the x chromosome is said to be a “carrier” for an x-linked condition. a male with a mutation in a gene on the x chromosome is typically affected with the condition. because females have two copies of the x chromosome and males have only one x chromosome, x-linked recessive diseases are more common among males than females. however, x-linked recessive diseases can occur in both males and females.

for x-linked recessive disorders, an unaffected carrier mother who has a mutation in a gene on the x chromosome can transmit either the x chromosome with this mutation or a “normal” x chromosome to her children. if the father is unaffected, none of her daughters will be affected and all of her daughters will be unaffected—since they will inherit at least one normal x chromosome from their father. however, each daughter will have a 50% chance of being an unaffected carrier like her mother and a 50% chance of both x chromosomes being normal.