{{Short description|Inflammation of the lymph nodes}} {{Other uses}} [[File:Plague -buboes.jpg|right|thumb|Buboes on the leg, caused by [[bubonic plague]]]] A '''bubo''' (Greek βουβών, ''boubṓn'', 'groin') is [[adenitis]] or inflammation of the [[lymph node]]s and is an example of reactive infectious [[lymphadenopathy]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Drancourt|first=Michel|last2=Piarroux|first2=Renaud|last3=Bitam|first3=Idir|last4=Mouffok|first4=Nadjet|last5=Raoult|first5=Didier|date=2013-01-01|title=Plague: History and contemporary analysis|journal=Journal of Infection|language=en|volume=66|issue=1|pages=18–26|doi=10.1016/j.jinf.2012.09.010|issn=0163-4453|pmid=23041039 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
== Classification == Buboes are a symptom of [[bubonic plague]] and occur as painful swellings in the thighs, neck, groin or armpits.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Plague: a very short introduction|last=Paul|first=Slack|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199589548|location=New York|pages=5|oclc=749871251}}</ref> They are caused by ''[[Yersinia pestis]]'' bacteria spreading from [[flea]] bites through the bloodstream to the lymph nodes, where the bacteria replicate, causing the nodes to swell.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Plague : the mysterious past and terrifying future of the world's most dangerous disease|last=Orent|first=Wendy|date=2004|publisher=Free Press|isbn=978-0743236850|location=New York|oclc=54034997|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/plaguemysterious00oren}}</ref> Plague buboes may turn black and [[Necrosis|necrotic]], rotting away the surrounding tissue, or they may rupture, discharging large amounts of [[pus]].<ref name=":1" /> [[Infection]] can spread from buboes around the body, resulting in other forms of the disease such as [[pneumonic plague]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Isberg|first=Ralph R.|last2=Davis|first2=Kimberly M.|date=2014-09-18|title=Plague's Partners in Crime|journal=Immunity|language=en|volume=41|issue=3|pages=347–349|doi=10.1016/j.immuni.2014.09.003|issn=1074-7613|pmid=25238090|doi-access=free}}</ref>
== Management == Plague patients whose buboes swell to such a size that they burst, tend to survive the disease.<ref name=":1" /> Before the discovery of [[antibiotic]]s, doctors often [[Incision and drainage|drained]] buboes with leeches or heated rods to save patients.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nesfield|first=V.B.|date=1911|title=The treatment of bubonic plague by the immediate incision of the glands |journal=The Lancet|volume=178|issue=4601|pages=1262–1264|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(01)42126-X}}</ref>
Buboes are also symptoms of other diseases, such as [[chancroid]] and [[lymphogranuloma venereum]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lewis|first=D. A.|date=2003-02-01|title=Chancroid: clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and management|journal=Sexually Transmitted Infections|language=en|volume=79|issue=1|pages=68–71|doi=10.1136/sti.79.1.68|issn=1368-4973|pmc=1744597|pmid=12576620}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Atlas of sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS|last=Morse|first=Stephen A.|last2=Holmes|first2=King K.|last3=Moreland|first3=Adele A.|last4=Ballard|first4=Ronald C.|date=2011|publisher=Saunders/Elsevier|isbn=9780702047640|edition=4th|location=Edinburgh|oclc=761212082}}</ref> In these conditions, a two-week course of antibiotics is the recommended treatment, and incision and drainage or excision of the swollen lymph nodes is best avoided.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.who.int/hiv/pub/sti/en/STIGuidelines2003.pdf#page=23 |title=Guidelines for the Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections. February 2004: 2. TREATMENT OF STI-ASSOCIATED SYNDROMES: 2.2. Genital ulcer: Inguinal bubo|website=apps.who.int|access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> However, [[Suction (medicine)|aspiration]] may sometimes be performed to prevent buboes from rupturing.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Lewis|first=David A|date=2014|title=Epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of Haemophilus ducreyi – a disappearing pathogen?|journal=Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy|language=en|volume=12|issue=6|pages=687–696|doi=10.1586/14787210.2014.892414|pmid=24597521|issn=1478-7210}}</ref> Although incision and drainage yields better results in such cases—since usually no further intervention is necessary, whereas repeat aspirations may be required—[[incision and drainage]] wounds may heal more slowly, increasing the risk of secondary infection.<ref name=":2" /> ==References== {{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Symptoms and signs: Skin and subcutaneous tissue]]