Axillary Swelling 2 (Differential Diagnosis Mastitis)

Figure tubr_14_n.jpg: Child with a circumscript swelling in the axilla. The overlying skin is red and swollen. On palpation the mass is fluctuating and painful. The diagnosis is purulent lymphadenitis (abscess) of the axilla which needs incision and drainage. Depending on the age and the development (teenager with axillary hair), also an abscess of the sweat gland - a so-called sudoriparous abscess - is a possible differential diagnosis. The apocrine sebaceous sweat glands of the axilla develop together with the axillary hair only at puberty. Therefore, a classic sudoriparous abscess does not occur before puberty.