No, my glands are swollen beyond my neck. Yes, the glands are swollen only in my neck. This guide is not intended to replace the evaluation and advice of a health care professional.Īre the "swollen glands" confined to your neck? By answering a short series of questions, you will learn about the most common reasons for your swollen glands in the neck. This guide will focus only on "swollen glands" in the neck. The parts of the body where people and their doctors can see or feel swollen lymph nodes include the neck, armpit, and groin areas. Less commonly, lymph nodes enlarge related to cancer. Most often swollen lymph nodes are caused by an infection or some other benign condition. One of the ways the body's immune system responds to infections and inflammation is to greatly increase the number of white cells in the lymph nodes causing them to swell. They are small bundles of white blood cells that are present in multiple areas throughout our body. Lymph nodes contain cells that help your body fight off infections and attack malignant cells, or cancer. The medical terms for swollen lymph nodes in your armpits are axillary adenopathy or axillary lymphadenopathy. But you can develop painful swollen lymph nodes in your armpits too. In fact, lymph nodes are not actually glands. An enlarged lymph node is the most common cause of a neck lump. When you think of swollen glands, you may be thinking of swollen lymph nodes on one or both sides of your neck. The term "swollen glands" usually refers to enlarged lymph nodes. Welcome to our Decision Guide on Swollen Glands in the Neck.