Biology Forums - Study Force

1.   Mrs. Jackson, a 59 year old woman, has undergone a left radical mastectomy (removal of left breast and left axillary lymph nodes and vessels). Her arm is severely swollen and painful, and she is unable to raise it to more than shoulder height. (a). Explain her signs and symptoms. (b) can she expect to have relief from these symptoms in time? How so? (4 points). Answer:

2.   A friend tells you that she has tender, swollen, “glands” along the left side of the front of her neck. You notice that she has a bandage on her left cheek that is not fully hiding a large infected cut there. Exactly what are her swollen, “glands”, and how did they become swollen? (4 points). Answer:

A) lymph nodes are utilized by the body as a transport system for wastes and other materials that are carried in the lymph fluid with the removal of the nodes there is no junction point for the wastes to go into and be removed thus they are just building and collecting in her arm. Her signs are the obvious edema (swelling) and redness. the symptoms are the pain which is caused by the increasing of fluid around the area which is causing the swelling. the increased swelling in putting pressure on the nerves in the area and causing great pain. eventually the swelling will go down and the pain will subside but all in time.
B) her glads are swollen because the open cut became infected and the glands which are lymph nodes, most likely her tonsils have become infected with bacteria from the open cut. the tonsils are a type of sacrificial node which means that when an invader is detected (bacteria in this case) they try to take up the bacteria and lyse them .