I have very painful swollen glands on my jaw, in front of my ear, and my lymph nodes behin my ear and neck are swollen and extremely painful. i have seen a doctor and i was told that my body is fighting infection, but i don't have any other signs. could t

Need lab studies: Mono? Other illness with lymphadenopathy?

Monitoring Centers: Lymphatic system absorbs/carries things too big to go into the arteries/veins like bacteria eaten by white cells and digested food. Lymph nodes "taste" the lymph for anything bad like bacteria/viruses/cancers, etc. When it detects a problem, it alerts the immune system and your body reacts. They enlarge in response to the inflammation they create when they react. They shrink when all is well.