The lymphatic system throughout history

[sraj]

The lymphatic system throughout history: From hieroglyphic translations to state of the art radiological techniques

....... The main difficulty in imaging and examining the lymphatic system is its fine‐meshed structure. In addition, lymph fluid is mostly colorless (though chyle is milky). Therefore, lymph vessels are barely visible to the naked eye, which was the standard study method during autopsies and anatomical dissections during previous centuries. Even today, when high resolution radiological imaging is readily available, the lymphatic system is hard to identify and barely visible. Moreover, these fine structures are easily overlooked as ‘radiological attention’ is mainly on the larger blood circulation and macroscopically visible organs. These difficulties leave patients with uninterpreted symptoms and consequently a dearth of potential therapies. .....

..... Following these pioneering accounts of the lymphatic system, one of the first reports of (assumed) lymphatic vessels found during an animal dissection was in Historia Animalium (Book III, chapter VI) by Aristotle (384–322 BC): “fibers, which take position between blood vessels and nerves and which contain colorless liquid.” Aristotle investigated and dissected multiple types of animals to compile this report; he did almost certainly not use human corpses. .......

National Library of Medicine

YouTube  resources:

What is the lymphatic system?     23:26   Sam Webster

Neck lymph nodes     15:46   Sam Webster

Lymph Flow through Lymphatic Trunks and Ducts   11:38    Dr. Kanani

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Hello List,

This week I discovered the 'Lymphatic  System' in the human body, which I was not aware of so far. The lymphatic system is more fascinating than the Cardiovascular system (powered by the human heart). It is a low pressure system in the human body which (1) transports waste products, right from the legs to venous openings below the neck (2) It is powered by general movement of the body and even the pulsations of the cardiovascular system! (3) There is danger in that it can transport cancerous cells from one location to another (4) ..... it is better that you research the topic yourself.

Can a sedentary lifestyle compromise this system? Can it increase your weight? It looks like there is paucity of research on this topic.

Regards,

Selvaraj