Anatomy of the Subcutaneous Lymph Vascular Network of the Human Leg in Relation to the Great Saphenous Vein.

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Anatomy of the Subcutaneous Lymph Vascular Network of the Human Leg in
Relation to the Great Saphenous Vein.

Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2008 Oct 24

Schacht V, Luedemann W, Abels C, Berens von Rautenfeld D.
Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center Freiburg,
Freiburg, Germany.

The anatomical relationship between lymphatic collectors and veins is
of clinical importance for preventing lymphedema secondary to
lymphatic collector injury during surgical procedures. To identify
areas at risk during surgical interventions, we performed an
anatomical study of human legs. The lymphatic collectors of 42 legs of
human cadavers were injected with Berlin Blue solution or contrast
medium. After fixation, the collectors were dissected and their
distances from the great saphenous vein were determined. We found that
the lymphatic collectors on the dorsum of the foot ran in close
parallel with the corium, whereas in the groin a greater number of
lymphatic collectors clustered around the great saphenous vein. The
ventromedial bundle that drains into the superficial inguinal nodes
included 5-20 lymphatic collectors. The average width of the
ventromedial bundle varied between 116 mm at the middle of the lower
leg and 32 mm at the groin. Our study cannot confirm the previous
observation of a bottleneck of the ventromedial bundle occurring at
the knee, but does support the finding of an elongated bottleneck at
the thigh and groin draining into the superficial inguinal lymph
nodes. In addition, the idea of one sentinel lymph node for a specific
region of the leg is not supported by these data. These observations
will help surgeons to plan incisions and dissections with respect to
lymphatic collectors, thereby minimizing damage to them and reducing
complications resulting from unnecessary lymphatic excisions. Anat
Rec, 2008. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PMID: 18951505 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18951505?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum