A 6-year-old boy is brought to the clinic where his mother reports that he was bitten by a neighbor's dog two days earlier. The child's right hand is lacerated between the thumb and index finger and this area is inflamed but healing. The doctor's examination reveals small but painless swellings beneath the skin inside the right elbow and arm pit and he explains to the mother that these are active lymph nodes enlarged in response to the infection in the hand. What has produced the swelling?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The swelling of the lymph nodes is due to the formation of germinal centers for B-cell proliferation in response to the infection. This is a typical immune response to an infection where B-cells proliferate and differentiate to produce antibodies.

A 6-Year-Old Boy Is Brought to the Clinic Where His