|Lymph nodes|, or ~lymph~ |glands| as they are sometimes called, are small oval structures normally the size of small kidney beans. They generally are located in clusters near |veins| at strategic points along medium-sized ~lymph~ vessels at the knee, elbow, armpit, groin, neck, abdomen and chest. ~Blood~ is cleaned and filtered in the |lymph nodes|, and germ fighting cells gather there during illness. This filtration process prevents bacteria, |cancer| cells, and other infectious agents from entering the ~blood~ and circulating through the system. The |lymph nodes| are the centers for production and storage of some of the white |blood cells|, namely the ~lymphocytes~ and monocytes, which are important elements of the body's immune mechanism. During any kind of ~infection~, the ~nodes~ enlarge in their area of drainage due to the proliferation of ~lymphocytes~ in the germinal center.
