Unit 8: Physiology Of Human Body Systems
Understand the impact of disorder on the physiology of the lymphatic system
and the associated corrective treatment
Impact of lymphatic disorder and associated treatment
Hodgkin lymphoma
Disruption or dysfunction of the lymphatic system can lead to diseases
such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as well as severe combined immune
deficiency, autoimmunity, lymphadenitis and lymphedema.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancerous disorder which involves
lymphocytes either dividing abnormally or failing to die. The
lymphocytes build up in the lymph nodes which then enlarge due to
the tumours. Typically, this starts in the lymph nodes of the neck
region and there is no pain. Other lymph nodes may also be affected,
for example, left and right cervical supraclavicular nodes, left and
right axillary nodes, epitrochlear and branchial nodes, retro peroneal
nodes (behind the pentoneum), left and right inguinal nodes,
mesenteric nodes and popliteal nodes. However, Hodgkin lymphoma
is more common in the supraclavicular nodes, axillary nodes,
inguinal nodes and the retroperitoneal nodes.
The disease usually affects people between the ages of 15 and 35
years old but it can also affect older people and close relatives of a
patient with Hodgkin’s lymphoma have a 1-3 increased risk of also
developing the disease, this suggest and underlying genetic
mechanism.
Symptoms of Hodgkin’s lymphoma include, increase in the size of the
spleen and the macrophages become abnormal, containing many
lobed nuclei and prominent nucleoli. Along with this, other
symptoms include weight loss, anaemia, night sweats and fever, and
an abnormal increase in the number of circulating white blood cells
by a factor of 100.