Anatomy and Physiology of Lymphatics

Yun-Woo Cho¹^,^*

¹Department of Rehabilitation Medicine & Spine Center, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea

^*Corresponding Author : Yun-Woo Cho, MD, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine & Spine Center, Yeungnam University Hospital, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, 170, Hyeonchung-no, Nam-gu, Daegu 42415, Korea, Tel: +82-53-620-4047, Fax: +82-53-625-3508, E-mail: tra5705@hanmail.net

ⓒ Copyright 2016 Korean Society of Lymphology and Lymphedema. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Oct 07, 2016; Accepted: Oct 21, 2016

Published Online: Oct 31, 2016

Abstract

It is important to understand lymphatic system to treatment of lymphedema, and to provide basic and precise knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system. Review articles and textbooks about lymphatic system, lymphedema, and vascular problems. The lymphatic system consists of lymphatic vessel and lymphatic organ. Lymphatic vessel is consisted of lymph capillary, precollector, collector, and lymphatic trunk. Lymphatic organ is made up of primary organ such as thymus and secondary as lymph node, spleen, tonsil, and lymph follicles. The lymphatic system has many functions including body fluid homeostasis, immune surveillance, and lipid absorption. Knowledge of the normal anatomy and physiology of lymphatics is important to treat and investigate lymphedema.

Keywords: Anatomy; Physiology; Lymphatics; Lymphedema