Axillary lymph node examination order

Axillary lymph nodes do not appear for no reason. If you have breast cancer, the axillary lymph nodes on the same side will swell. Therefore, if you find swollen axillary lymph nodes, you need to rule out the possibility of breast cancer first. In addition, if there is painless enlargement of the axillary lymph nodes, it is likely caused by lymphoma, so you must pay attention to checking the axillary lymph nodes on a regular basis.

If you want to examine the axillary lymph nodes accurately, you need to follow the correct examination order. If the order is wrong, the examination results may easily be inaccurate. If your friend has learned the order of checking axillary lymph nodes, he or she can do self-examination at ordinary times.

The axillary lymph nodes are divided into 5 groups, namely the axillary top lymph nodes, the anterior axillary wall (pectoral muscle) lymph nodes, the medial axillary wall (central) lymph nodes, the posterior axillary wall (subscapular) lymph nodes and the lateral axillary wall (inner upper arm) lymph nodes. Check each item one by one without missing any.

The examination method is: the patient sits or lies on his back, and the doctor faces the patient. Generally, check the left side first and then the right side. Check the left armpit with your right hand and the right armpit with your left hand. When examining the left axilla, the examiner holds the patient's left wrist with his left hand and abducts it about 45°. The examiner puts the right fingers together, places the palm close to the chest wall and gradually moves upward to the top of the axilla, performs sliding palpation, and then palpates the back, inside, and forearm of the axilla in turn. The examiner then turns the palm outward, lets the patient's abducted upper arm hang down, and palpates the outer wall of the axilla. When examining the anterior axillary wall, carefully palpate the deep surface of the pectoralis major muscle. When examining the posterior axillary wall, you should palpate the deep surface of the posterior axillary wall muscles. When palpating each group of lymph nodes, attention should be paid to their size, number, hardness, tenderness, mobility, and adhesion to the skin.

Simply put, when examining the right side, the examiner holds the examinee's right hand with his right hand, with the forearm slightly abducted. The four fingers of the left hand are brought together and slightly bent, and inserted into the right armpit from the back of the examinee's right upper arm, reaching the top of the armpit. From the top of the armpit, touch along the chest wall from top to bottom, and examine the inner wall, outer wall, front wall and back wall of the right armpit in turn. Use your left hand when checking the left side.

This is the order of axillary lymph node examination. If the axillary lymph nodes are swollen, it indicates that there are certain diseases in your body. Therefore, if you find that you have symptoms of axillary lymph nodes, please go to the hospital for tumor screening in time. If the possibility of tumor is ruled out, it can greatly reduce your psychological pressure.