Lymphatic System Components

An important supplement to the cardiovascular system in helping to remove toxins from

the body, the lymphatic system is also a crucial support of the immune system. Unlike
blood, lymph only moves one way through your body, propelled by the action of nearby
skeletal muscles. The lymph is pushed into the bloodstream for elimination. Appreciating
the importance of the lymphatic system in filtering, recycling, and producing blood as
well as filtering lymph, collecting excess fluids, and absorbing fat-soluble materials is
important in the understanding of human physiology.

The lymphatic system consists of lymphatic vessels, fluid called lymph, lymph nodes,
the thymus, and the spleen. This system supplements and extends the cardiovascular
system in the following ways:

• The lymphatic system collects excess fluids and plasma proteins from
surrounding tissues (interstitial fluids) and returns them to the blood circulation.
Because lymphatic capillaries are more porous than blood capillaries, they are
able to collect fluids, plasma proteins, and blood cells that have escaped from the
blood. Within lymphatic vessels, this collected material forms a usually colorless
fluid called lymph, which is transported to the neck, where it empties into the
circulatory system.
• The lymphatic system absorbs lipids and fat-soluble materials from the digestive
tract.
• The lymphatic system filters the lymph by destroying pathogens, inactivating
toxins, and removing particulate matter. Lymph nodes, small bodies interspersed
along lymphatic vessels, act as cleaning filters and as immune response centers
that defend against infection.

The movement of lymph through lymphatic vessels is slow (3 liters/day) compared to

blood flow (about 5 liters/minutes). Lymph does not circulate like blood, but moves in
one direction from its collection in tissues to its return in the blood. There are no
lymphatic pumps. Instead, lymph, much like blood in veins, is propelled forward by the
action of the nearby skeletal muscles, the expansion and contraction of the lungs, and the
contraction of the smooth muscle fibers in the walls of the lymphatic vessels. Valves in
the lymphatic vessels prevent the backward movement of lymph.

Lymphatic Vessels
Lymphatic vessels occur throughout the body alongside arteries (in the viscera) or veins
(in the subcutaneous tissue). They are absent from the central nervous system, bone
marrow, teeth, and avascular tissues.

• Lymph capillaries, the smallest lymphatic vessels, begin as dead-end vessels.

They resemble blood capillaries, but are much more porous to surrounding fluids
due to the following two features:
 o Valve like openings form at the juncture of adjacent endothelial cells.
Unlike the tightly joined endothelial cells that make up the walls of blood
capillaries, those of lymph capillaries loosely overlap. When fluid pressure
increases in surrounding regions, the overlapped cells separate, allowing
fluids to enter the lymph capillary. When pressure inside the capillary
exceeds the pressure outside, the spaces between the endothelial cells
close, holding fluids inside the capillary.
o Anchoring filaments attach the endothelial cells of the lymphatic vessels
to surrounding collagen. When interstitial fluid pressure increases, the
anchoring filaments prevent the endothelial cells from collapsing, keeping
the spaces between the endothelial cells open.
• Lacteals are specialized lymph capillaries that occur in the fingerlike projections
(villi) that extend into the small intestine. Lacteals absorb lipids from the
intestinal tract. The lymph within these capillaries, called chyle, has a creamy
white color (rather than clear) due to the presence of fats.
• Lymphatic collecting vessels form as lymph capillaries merge. Collecting vessels
have the following characteristics:
o Valves are present to prevent the backward flow of lymph (as in veins).
o The walls of collecting vessels consist of the same three tunics (layers)
that characterize veins, but the layers are thinner and poorly defined.
• Lymphatic trunks form from the union of collecting vessels. The nine major
trunks, draining lymph from regions for which they are named, are the lumbar,
jugular, subclavian, and bronchomediastinal trunks, each of which occurs in pairs
(left and right, for each side of the body), and a single intestinal trunk.
• Lymphatic ducts are the largest lymphatic vessels. These two ducts drain lymph
into veins in the neck (the right and left subclavian veins at their junctures with
the internal jugular veins). Valves in the lymphatic ducts at their junctures with
the veins prevent the entrance of blood into the lymphatic vessels.
o The thoracic duct (left thoracic duct) collects lymph from the left side of
the body and regions of the right side of body below the thorax. It begins
at the cisterna chili, an enlarged region of the lymphatic vessel that forms
following the union of the intestinal trunk and right and left lumbar trunks.
o The right thoracic duct collects lymph from the upper right side of the
body (right arm and right regions of thorax, neck, and head), a much
smaller area than that serviced by the thoracic duct.

Lymphoid Cells
Lymphatic (lymphoid) tissue is a kind of connective tissue. It consists of the
following types of cells:

• Lymphocytes are white blood cells (leukocytes) that provide an immune response
that attacks specific kinds of nonself cells and foreign substances (antigens).
There are two major classes of lymphocytes:
o T cells (T lymphocytes) originate in the bone marrow but mature in the
thymus gland. T cells attack self cells that have been invaded by
 pathogens, abnormal self cells (such as cancerous cells), or nonself cells
(such as those that might be introduced in an organ transplant).
o B cells (B lymphocytes) originate and mature in the bone marrow. When
B cells encounter an antigen (a toxin, virus, or bacterium), they produce
plasma cells and memory cells. Plasma cells release antibodies that bind to
the antigen and inactivate it. Memory cells circulate in the lymph and
blood with the capacity to produce additional antigens for future
encounters with the same antigen.
• Macrophages are enlarged monocytes (white blood cells) that engulf microbes
and cellular debris.
• Reticular cells and their reticular fibers made from collagen and glycoproteins
provide a network within which the lymphocytes and other cells reside.

Lymphatic Tissues and Organs

Lymphatic cells are organized into tissues and organs based upon how tightly the
lymphatic cells are arranged and whether the tissue is encapsulated by a layer of
connective tissue. Three general categories exist:

• Diffuse, unencapsulated bundles of lymphatic cells. This kind of lymphatic tissue

consists of lymphocytes and macrophages associated with a reticular fiber
network. It occurs in the lamina propria (middle layer) of the mucus membranes
(mucosae) that line the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.
• Discrete, unencapsulated bundles of lymphatic cells, called lymphatic nodules
(follicles) . These bundles have clear boundaries that separate them from
neighboring cells. Nodules occur within the lamina propria of the mucus
membranes that line the gastrointestinal, respiratory, reproductive, and urinary
tracts. They are referred to as mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). The
nodules contain lymphocytes and macrophages that protect against bacteria and
other pathogens that may enter these passages with food, air, or urine. Nodules
occur as solitary nodules, or they cluster as patches or aggregates. Here are the
major clusters of nodules:
o Peyer's patches are clusters of lymphatic nodules that occur in the mucosa
that lines the ileum of the small intestine.
o The tonsils are aggregates of lymphatic nodules that occur in the mucosa
that lines the pharynx (throat). Each of the seven tonsils that form a ring
around the pharynx are named for their specific region: A single
pharyngeal tonsil (adenoid) in the rear wall of the nasopharynx, two
palatine tonsils on each side wall of the oral cavity at its entrance in the
throat, two lingual tonsils at the base of the tongue, and two small tubal
tonsils in the pharynx at the entrance to the auditory tubes.
o The appendix, a small fingerlike attachment to the beginning of the large
intestine, is lined with aggregates of nodules.
• Encapsulated organs contain lymphatic nodules and diffuse lymphatic cells
surrounded by a capsule of dense connective tissue. The three lymphatic organs
are discussed in the following sections.
 Lymph nodes
Lymph nodes are small, oval, or bean-shaped bodies that occur along lymphatic vessels.
They are abundant where lymphatic vessels merge to form trunks, especially in the
inguinal (groin), axillary (armpit), and mammary gland areas. Lymph flows into a node
through afferent lymphatic vessels that enter the convex side of a node. It exits the node
at the hilus, the indented region on the opposite, concave side of the node, through
efferent lymphatic vessels. Efferent vessels contain valves that restrict lymph to
movement in one direction out of the lymph node. The number of efferent vessels leaving
the lymph node is fewer than the number of afferent vessels entering, slowing the flow of
lymph through the node.

Lymph nodes perform three functions:

• They filter the lymph, preventing the spread of microorganisms and toxins that
enter interstitial fluids.
• They destroy bacteria, toxins, and particulate matter through the phagocytic action
of macrophages.
• They produce antibodies through the activity of B cells.

The structure of a lymph node is characterized by the following features:

• A capsule of dense connective tissue surrounds the lymph node.

• Trabeculae are projections of the capsule that extend into the node forming
compartments. The trabeculae support reticular fibers that form a network that
supports lymphocytes.
• The cortex is the dense, outer region of the node. It contains lymphatic nodules
where B cells and macrophages proliferate.
• The medulla is the center of the node. Less dense than the surrounding cortex, the
medulla primarily contains T cells.
• Medullary cords are strands of reticular fibers with lymphocytes and macrophages
that extend from the cortex toward the hilus.
• Sinuses are passageways through the cortex and medulla through which lymph
moves toward the hilus.

Thymus
The thymus is a bilobed organ located in the upper chest region between the lungs. It
grows during childhood and reaches its maximum size of 40 g at puberty. It then slowly
decreases in size as it is replaced by adipose and areolar connective tissue. By age 65, it
weighs about 6 g.

Each lobe of the thymus is surrounded by a capsule of connective tissue. Lobules

produced by trabeculae (inward extensions of the capsule) are characterized by an outer
cortex and inner medulla. The following cells are present:
 • Lymphocytes consist almost entirely of T cells.
• Epithelial-reticular cells resemble reticular cells, but do not form reticular fibers.
Instead, these star-shaped cells form a reticular network by interlocking their
slender cellular processes (extensions). These processes are held together by
desmosomes, cell junctions formed by protein fibers.
• Epithelial-reticular cells produce thymosin and other hormones believed to
promote the maturation of T cells.
• Thymic (Hassall's) corpuscles are dense, concentric layers of epithelial-reticular
cells. Their function is unknown.

The function of the thymus is to promote the maturation of T lymphocytes. Immature T

cells migrate through the blood from the red bone marrow to the thymus. Within the
thymus, the immature T cells concentrate in the cortex where they continue their
development. Mature T cells leave the thymus by way of blood vessels or efferent
lymphatic vessels, migrating to other lymphatic tissues and organs where they become
active (immunocompetent) in immune responses. The thymus does not provide a filtering
function similar to lymph nodes (there are no afferent lymphatic vessels leading into the
thymus), and unlike all other centers of lymphatic tissues, the thymus does not play a
direct role in immune responses.

Blood vessels that permeate the thymus are surrounded by epithelial-reticular cells. These
cells establish a protective blood-thymus barrier that prevents the entrance of antigens
from the blood and into the thymus where T cells are maturing. Thus, an antigen-free
environment is maintained for the development of T cells.

Spleen
Measuring about 12 cm (5 in) in length, the spleen is the largest lymphatic organ. It is
located on the left side of the body between the diaphragm and stomach. Like other
lymphatic organs, the spleen is surrounded by a capsule whose extensions into the spleen
form trabeculae. The splenic artery, splenic vein, nerves, and efferent lymphatic vessels
pass through the hilus of the spleen located on its slightly concave, upper surface. There
are two distinct areas within the spleen:

• White pulp consists of reticular fibers and lymphocytes in nodules that resemble
the nodules of lymph nodes.
• Red pulp consists of venous sinuses filled with blood. Splenic cords consisting of
reticular connective tissue, macrophages, and lymphocytes form a mesh between
the venous sinuses and act as a filter as blood passes between arterial vessels and
the sinuses.

The functions of the spleen include the following:

• The spleen filters the blood. Macrophages in the spleen remove bacteria and
other pathogens, cellular debris, and aged blood cells. There are no afferent
lymphatic vessels and, unlike lymph nodes, the spleen does not filter lymph.
• The spleen destroys old red blood cells and recycles their parts. It removes the
iron from heme groups and binds the iron to the storage protein.
• The spleen provides a reservoir of blood. The diffuse nature of the red pulp
retains large quantities of blood, which can be directed to the circulation when
necessary. One third of the blood platelets are stored in the spleen.
• The spleen is active in immune responses. T cells proliferate in the white pulp
before returning to the blood to attack nonself cells when necessary. B cells
proliferate in the white pulp, producing plasma cells and antibodies that return to
the blood to inactivate antigens.
• The spleen produces blood cells. Red and white blood cells are produced in the
spleen during fetal development.