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PA19.1-6 | Welcome to Approach to Lymphadenopathy
Learning Objectives
- Recall the normal microanatomy of a lymph node (cortex, paracortex, medulla) and their cellular constituents.
- Define lymphadenopathy and distinguish physiological from pathological causes.
- Apply the reactive vs neoplastic framework to classify the causes of lymphadenopathy.
- Identify the three reactive hyperplasia patterns and map each to a clinical aetiology.
- Use clinical discriminators — size, consistency, tenderness, mobility, site, and age — to build a working differential diagnosis.
- Justify why excision biopsy is preferred over FNAC when lymphoma is suspected.
- Recognise how this module connects to SDL2 (TB lymphadenitis), SDL3 (Hodgkin lymphoma), and SDL4 (Non-Hodgkin lymphoma).
INSTRUCTIONS
Lymphadenopathy is one of the most common signs a Year-2 student will encounter on ward rounds and in the exam hall. A single palpable node might represent a trivial viral infection or a curable lymphoma — and the clinical features that separate them are learnable, systematic, and high-yield. This module builds the diagnostic framework you will use repeatedly through your clinical years. Work through it in one sitting (~19 min); revisit the reactive hyperplasia patterns before SDL3.
References
- Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 10th ed., Ch 13 (Diseases of White Blood Cells, Lymph Nodes, Spleen, and Thymus) (textbook)
- Harsh Mohan Textbook of Pathology, 7th ed., Ch 31 (Lymph Nodes and Spleen) (textbook)
Version 2.0 | NMC CBUC 2024