LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

Tanveer Saeed
Assistant Professor
AKU-SONAM
Lymphatic System

 The lymphatic system

consists of organs,
ducts or lymph
vessels,lymph nodes
and Lymphatic tissue
 Spleen
 Thymus
 Clear interstitial fluid
called lymph

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 Lymphatic System
 There are several sections that make up the
lymphatic system and it is involved in three
separate processes within the body:
 removing fluid from tissue within the body
 transportation of fatty acids
 production of immune cells
 It also interacts with the circulatory system to
drain excess fluid from various cells and tissues.

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Function of Lymphatic System
 To collect and return interstitial fluid
(approximately 3 liters daily), including plasma
protein to the blood and thus help maintain
fluid balance.
 To defend the body against disease by
producing lymphocytes.
 To absorb lipids from the intestine (in the villi
of the small intestine) and transport them to
the blood via the lacteals and lymph vessels.
 Lymphatic Organs
Primary lymphatic organs Secondary Lymphatic Tissues
 Bone marrow “control the quality of immune
responses”.
 Thymus Gland
Bone marrow: Precursor Lymph nodes filters
cells in the bone marrow lymph
produce lymphocytes.
B-lymphocytes (B-cells)
Spleen is a filter of blood
mature in the bone Mucosal Associated
marrow. Lymphatic Tissue
Thymus : ( MALT)
 T-lymphocytes (T-cells)
mature in the thymus
gland.

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Lymph

 Lymph means clear water and it is basically the fluid

and protein that has been squeezed out of the blood
(i.e. blood plasma).
 This fluid is formed as the interstitial fluid enters
the lymph vessels by filtration.
 The lymph is drained from the tissue in microscopic
blind-ended vessels called lymph capillaries.
 The lymph system is a one-way street draining
lymph from the tissue and returning it to the blood.
 Lymph has a composition comparable to that of
blood plasma, but it may differ slightly depending on
the tissue served (drained).
 Composition of Lymph
 The lymph fluid also contains substances such as
fats, proteins, ions, clotting factors, lymphocytes,
and cellular waste products that cannot return via
the circulatory system. Once inside the lymph
vessels, this fluid is collectively known as lymph.
 In particular, the lymph that leaves a lymph node is
richer in lymphocytes.
 Likewise, the lymph formed in the digestive system
called chyle is rich in triglycerides (fat), and looks
white.

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 Formation of lymph
 Blood supplies nutrients, and important
metabolites to the tissues, and collects back the
waste products that they produce, which requires
exchange of respective constituents between the
blood and tissues.
 However, this exchange is not direct, and is
effected through an intermediary called
interstitial fluid or tissue fluid that the blood
forms.
 Interstitial fluid is the fluid that occupies the
spaces between the cells and acts as their
immediate environment.

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Formation of lymph cont’d
 Thus, lymph when formed is a watery clear
liquid with the same composition as the
interstitial fluid. However, as it flows through
the lymph nodes it comes in contact with
blood, and tends to accumulate more cells
(particularly, lymphocytes) and proteins.

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 Blood capillaries in most sites are normally
leaky.
Because the hydrostatic pressure is greater
inside them than outside, some water from the
plasma, with its dissolved particles, moves out
into the tissue (interstitial) fluid which
everywhere bathes the cells and fills any gaps
among them.

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Lymph Capillaries
 A lymph capillary has no arterial end.
 Each lymph capillary originates as a closed tube.
 Lymph capillaries also have a larger and more
irregular lumen (inner space) than blood capillaries
and are more permeable.
 Small capillaries join together to form larger lymph
vessels.
 The wall of a lymph capillary is constructed of
endothelial cells that overlap one another.
 Lymph Capillaries Cont’d

 When fluid outside the capillary pushes against

the overlapping cells, they swing slightly inward--
like a swinging door that moves in only one
direction.
 Fluid inside the capillary cannot flow out through
these openings.

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Lymph vessels Cont’d
Large lymph vessels:
 The walls of lymph vessels are about the same
thickness as those small veins and have the same
layer of tissue i.e.
Outer : fibrous covering
Middle: smooth muscle
Inner: elastic layer
 The tiny capillaries join up to form large lymph
vessels.
 Lymph vessels become larger as they join together
eventually forming two large duct.
 The thoracic duct
 Right Lymphatic duct
These duct empty into subclavian vein.
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Lymph Capillaries Cont’d
 Lymph capillaries branch and interconnect freely
and extend into almost all tissues of the body
except the:
 Central Nervous System ( brain and spinal
cord)
 Epidermis
 Cartilage

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 Lymphatics Cont’d
 In the skin, lymphatics are located in
subcutaneous tissue and follow same paths as
veins.
In the viscera, lymphatics generally follow arteries
and form plexuses (networks) around them.
 Other organs, including the heart, lungs,
intestines, liver, and skin also contain lymphatic
tissue."
 The ducts of the lymphatic system provide
transportation for proteins, fats, and other
substances in a medium called lymph.

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 Lymph Circulation
 No pump like heart.
 Tissue fluid pressure
 Pressure by neighboring arteries
There are 3 main factors responsible for lymph flow:
1. the skeletal muscle pump---Contraction of skeletal
muscles
2. the respiratory pump:Negative pressure in thorax during
inspiration
3. the contraction of smooth muscle in the lymphatic vessel
walls. Intrinsic ability of the smooth muscle tissue as they
have pacemakers cells.
Thoracic Duct
 Lymphatics from the lower portion of the body
converge to form a dilated lymph vessel, the cisterna
chyli, in the lumbar region of the abdominal cavity.
 The cisterna chyli extends for about 6 cm just to the
right of the abdominal aorta.
 At the level of the 12th. thoracic vertebra, the cisterna
chyli narrows and becomes the thoracic duct ( 40 cm
long).
 It drain lymph from both legs, pelvic and abdominal
cavities, the left half of the thorax, head, neck and
the left arm.
Thoracic Duct Cont’d
 This vessel delivers the lymph into the base of
the left subcIavian vein at the junction of the left
subcIavian and internal jugular veins.
 In this way lymph is continuously emptied into
the blood where it mixes with the plasma.
 At the junction of the thoracic duct and the
venous system, a valve prevents blood from
flowing backward into the duct.
Right Lymphatic Duct
 Dilated lymph vessel only about 1cm in length.
 Receives lymph from the lymphatic vessels in the
upper right quadrant of the body
( Right half of thorax, head, neck and the right
arm).
 The right lymphatic duct empties lymph into the
base of the right subclavian vein (at the point
where it unites with the internal jugular vein to
form the brachiocephalic)
 Lymph Nodes
 All small & medium sized lymph vessels open in to
LN.
 Nodes are bean-shaped and range in size from a few
millimeters to about 1-2 cm in their normal state.
The lymph node provides an environment where
lymphocytes can receive initial exposure to foreign antigens
(viruses, bacteria, fungi).
 This activates the lymphocytes to perform immune functions.
 Most lymph nodes form in clusters throughout he system,
such as in the neck, armpit, and groin.
 Located very strategically throughout the body.
Lymph Nodes Cont’d
 New lymphocytes are manufactured in the lymph
nodes.
 Antibodies (manufactures in the lymph nodes)
assist the body to build up an effective immunity
to infectious diseases.
 Lymph nodes play an important role in the
defense mechanism of the body. They filter out
micro-organisms (such as bacteria) and foreign
substances such as toxins, etc.
 It transports large molecular compounds (such as
enzymes and hormones) from their manufactured
sites to the bloodstream.
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 Lymph node cot’d

 The organs and tissues of the lymphatic system

are the major production sites of two main types
of lymphocytes:
 T cells and B cells, which respond and proliferate
in response to an infection.
 Also found within the lymph nodes are white
blood cells called phagocytes, which engulf and
destroy particles such as bacteria and dead cells
by a process known as phagocytosis.

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Tanveer Saeed
Lymph Nodes

 The cervical lymph

nodes (in the neck)
 The axillary lymph
nodes (in the armpit).
 The inguinal lymph
nodes (in the groin).
These three sets are
called palpable lymph
nodes, because they
can be felt from the
outside. Swelling of
these nodes indicates
infection.
Axillary nodes---- upper limb &
Breast
Supratrochlear nodes----
situated in elbow region.
lymph from thoracic cavity Lymph from the pelvic
drains through group of and abdominal cavities
nodes: passes through many
Mediastinal lymph nodes nodes
Parasternal before entering to the
Intercostal cisterna chyli.
Brachiocephalic Lymph from lower limbs
Tracheobronchial drain by:
Bronchopulmonary
 popliteal and inguinal
Oesophageal nodes
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 Functions of Lymph Nodes

 Filtering
 Phagocytosis
 Proliferation of activated B & T-lymphocytes

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Oedema
 oedema is an excess of fluid in the interstitial of body
tissues.
 It can happen anywhere, but swelling of the ankles is
the commonest example, although not all ‘thick’
ankles are oedematous.
 To qualify as true oedema, the swelling must be
capable of indentation by pressure from the fingers,
known as ‘pitting’.
 Also, oedema of the ankles, because it is enhanced
by gravity, improves when the you ‘put your feet up’.

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Oedema Cont’d
It follows that tissue fluid may accumulate
excessively if:
 (i) capillaries become more leaky
 (ii) pressure is abnormally high inside the
capillaries, or low outside them
 (iii) plasma proteins are deficient or diluted
 (iv) lymphatic drainage is blocked.

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