lymph

lymph, pale fluid that bathes the tissues of an organism, maintaining fluid balance, and removes bacteria from tissues; it enters the blood system by way of lymphatic channels and ducts.

Prominent among the constituents of lymph are lymphocytes and macrophages, the primary cells of the immune system with which the body defends itself from invasion by foreign microorganisms. Lymph is conveyed from the tissues to the venous bloodstream via the lymphatic vessels. On the way, it is filtered through the lymphatic organs (spleen and thymus) and lymph nodes.

Pressure within the walls of lymph vessels is lower than that in blood vessels. Lymph flows more slowly than blood. The cell walls of lymph vessels are more permeable than those of the capillary walls of blood vessels. Thus, proteins that may have been delivered to the tissues by the bloodstream but that are too big to reenter the capillaries, along with waste products and large proteins synthesized in the local tissue cells, enter the lymphatic vessels for return to the bloodstream.

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The Human Body

The lymphatic vessels of vertebrates generally empty into the bloodstream near the location at which the cardinal veins enter the heart. In mammals, lymph enters the bloodstream at the subclavian vein, via the thoracic duct. From their terminal ducts to their sources between the cells of the tissues, the lymph vessels divide and subdivide repeatedly, becoming narrower at each division. A system of valves in the larger vessels keeps the lymph flowing in one direction.

In mammals, lymph is driven through the lymphatic vessels primarily by the massaging effect of the activity of muscles surrounding the vessels. Animals lower than mammals have muscular swellings called lymph hearts at intervals of the lymphatic vessels to pump lymph through them.

All multicellular animals distinguish between their own cells and foreign microorganisms and attempt to neutralize or ingest the latter. Macrophages (literally, “big eaters”) are motile cells which surround and ingest foreign matter. All animals above the level of bony fishes have concentrations of lymphoid tissue, which consists of macrophages and lymphocytes (white blood cells that react to chemically neutralize foreign microorganisms). The spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes of mammals consist of lymphoid tissue; further concentrations of it are found throughout the body in places (such as the gut wall, or the tonsils and adenoids of humans) where foreign microorganisms might have easiest ingress.

Bacteria and other particles that find their way into body tissues are taken up by the lymph and carried into the lymph nodes, where the bands of lymphatic tissue crossing the lymph sinuses impede their passage. Lymphocytes proliferate in response to the foreign invader, some cells remaining in the node and others migrating to other nodes elsewhere in the body. Some of these cells produce antibodies against the invading bacteria, while others take part in a direct attack on the foreign material, surrounding and engulfing it.

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Although the primary function of the lymphatic system is to return proteins and fluids to the blood, this immune function accounts for the tendency of many infections and other disease processes to cause swelling of the lymph nodes. Bacteria, allergenic particles, and cancerous cells from elsewhere in the body that have collected in the nodes stimulate lymphocyte proliferation, thereby greatly enlarging the node. Interference with lymphatic flow may cause an accumulation of fluid in the tissues that are drained by the blocked vessel, producing tissue swelling known as lymphedema.

Other and more serious conditions affecting the lymphatic system include various forms of malignancy, either lymphocytic leukemia or lymphoma, depending on the nature of lymphatic proliferation. Dramatic increases in circulating lymphocytes characterize acute lymphocytic leukemia, a highly fatal disease that occurs most frequently in children; less rapid increases in circulating lymph cells occur in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is more common in those over 45. In both conditions, the accumulation of lymphocytes in the bloodstream is accompanied by anemia. Gross enlargement of the lymph nodes through malignant proliferation of lymph cells characterizes Hodgkin’s disease and other forms of lymphoma.

Lymph node enlargement may occur in syphilis, infectious mononucleosis, amyloidosis, and tuberculosis, as may local lymph node swelling in other infectious processes.