Diseases of The Lymphatic System.

Diseases of The Lymphatic System.

The lymphatic, or absorbent, system is connected with the blood-vascular system, and consists of a series of tubes which absorb and convey to the blood certain fluids. These tubes lead to lymphatic glands, through which the fluids pass to reach the right lymphatic vein and thoracic duct, both of which enter the venous system near the heart. Through the excessively thin walls of the capillaries the fluid part of the blood transudes to nourish the tissues outside the capillaries; at the same time fluid passes from the tissues into the blood. The fluid, after it passes into the tissues, constitutes the lymph, and acts like a stream irrigating the tissue elements. Much of the surplus of this lymph passes into the lymph vessels, which in their commencement can hardly be treated as independent structures, since their walls are so closely joined with the tissues through which they pass, being nothing more than spaces in the connective tissue until they reach the larger lymph vessels, which finally empty into lymph glands. These lymph glands are structures so placed that the lymph flowing toward the larger trunks passes through them, undergoing a sort of filtration. From the fact of this arrangement lymph glands are subject to inflammatory diseases in the vicinity of diseased structures, because infective material being conveyed in the lymph stream lodges in the glands and produces irritation.