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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffYour lymph nodes play a vital role in your body's ability to fight off illness. Approximately 600 nodes, scattered throughout your body, trap and destroy viruses, bacteria and other harmful organisms. In the process, the nodes closest to the infection can become sore and swollen — for instance, the lymph nodes in your neck may swell when you have a sore throat. Other nodes that commonly swell are located under your chin and in your armpits and groin.
Although less well known, you also have lymph nodes in the mesentery — the thin tissue that attaches your intestine to your abdominal wall. The most common cause of swollen mesenteric nodes is a viral infection, such as gastroenteritis — commonly known as stomach flu. Mesenteric lymphadenitis can also result from infection with yersinia bacteria, which may come from eating undercooked pork or drinking unpasteurized milk or contaminated water.
Some children develop an upper respiratory infection before or during a bout of mesenteric lymphadenitis, and experts speculate that there may be a link between the two.
- Leung AK, et al. Acute abdominal pain in children. American Family Physician. 2003;67(11):2321-2326.
- Vanyer K, et al. Mesenteric lymphadenopathy in children examined by US for chronic and/or recurrent abdominal pain. Pediatric Radiology. 2003;33(12): 864-867.
- Micari M, et al. Mesenteric adentitis: CT diagnosis of primary versus secondary causes, incidence, and clinical significance in pediatric and adult patients. American Journal of Roentgenology. 2002;178:853-858.
- Rathaus V, et al. Enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes in asymptomatic children: The value of the finding in various imaging modalities. The British Journal of Radiology. 2005;78(925):30-33.
- Boaz K. et al. Mesenteric lymph nodes in children: What is normal? Pediatric Radiology. 2005;35(8):774-777.
- Simanovksy N, et al. Importance of sonographic detection of enlarged abdominal lymph nodes in children. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine. 2007;26(5):581-584.
