Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

General Overview

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Lymphedema

  • 2810 Accesses

Abstract

The principal lymphatic functions include the prevention of edema, immune trafficking, and gastrointestinal lipid absorption. These biological activities are supported by a complex anatomic and functional organization. Failure of adequate lymph transport initiates and sustains lymphedema and likely contributes to the pathological presentation of a wide variety of lymphatic vascular diseases.

  • The lymphatic system contributes to the functionality of both the circulatory and the immune systems.

  • Lymphatics are found throughout the body, including the central nervous system.

  • Lymphatic vasculature and lymphoid tissue are most dense in the compartments that come into direct contact with the external environment (skin, gastrointestinal tract, and respiratory system).

  • One hundred % of the plasma volume exits the blood circulation each 9 h; most of this fluid is returned to the systemic circulation from the interstitial space through lymphatic transport.

  • The contractility of the lymphatic vasculature is governed by both extrinsic and intrinsic forces.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Highlighted References

  1. Louveau A, Smirnov I, Keyes TJ, Eccles JD, Rouhani SJ, Peske JD, et al. Structural and functional features of central nervous system lymphatic vessels. Nature. 2015;523(7560):337–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Szuba A, Shin WS, Strauss HW, Rockson S. The third circulation: radionuclide lymphoscintigraphy in the evaluation of lymphedema. J Nucl Med. 2003;44(1):43–57.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Levick JR, Michel CC. Microvascular fluid exchange and the revised Starling principle. Cardiovasc Res. 2010;87(2):198–210.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Baluk P, Fuxe J, Hashizume H, Romano T, Lashnits E, Butz S, et al. Functionally specialized junctions between endothelial cells of lymphatic vessels. J Exp Med. 2007;204(10):2349–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Wiig H, Swartz MA. Interstitial fluid and lymph formation and transport: physiological regulation and roles in inflammation and cancer. Physiol Rev. 2012;92(3):1005–60.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

References

  1. Oliver G. Lymphatic vasculature development. Nat Rev Immunol. 2004;4(1):35–45.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Aspelund A, Antila S, Proulx ST, Karlsen TV, Karaman S, Detmar M, et al. A dural lymphatic vascular system that drains brain interstitial fluid and macromolecules. J Exp Med. 2015;212(7):991–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Aspelund A, Robciuc MR, Karaman S, Makinen T, Alitalo K. Lymphatic System in Cardiovascular Medicine. Circ Res. 2016;118(3):515–30.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Brautigam P, Foldi E, Schaiper I, Krause T, Vanscheidt W, Moser E. Analysis of lymphatic drainage in various forms of leg edema using two compartment lymphoscintigraphy. Lymphology. 1998;31(2):43–55.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Cueni LN, Detmar M. The lymphatic system in health and disease. Lymphat Res Biol. 2008;6(3-4):109–22.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Ikomi F, Hanna GK, Schmid-Schonbein GW. Mechanism of colloidal particle uptake into the lymphatic system: basic study with percutaneous lymphography. Radiology. 1995;196(1):107–13.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Higuchi M, Fokin A, Masters TN, Robicsek F, Schmid-Schonbein GW. Transport of colloidal particles in lymphatics and vasculature after subcutaneous injection. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1999;86(4):1381–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Reddy NP, Patel K. A mathematical model of flow through the terminal lymphatics. Med Eng Phys. 1995;17(2):134–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Schmid-Schonbein GW. Microlymphatics and lymph flow. Physiol Rev. 1990;70(4):987–1028.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Alitalo K, Tammela T, Petrova TV. Lymphangiogenesis in development and human disease. Nature. 2005;438(7070):946–53.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Falk Cardiovascular Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Stanley G. Rockson

Authors
  1. Stanley G. Rockson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stanley G. Rockson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the Lymphedema and Vascular Malformations, Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Byung-Boong Lee

  2. Falk Cardiovascular Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA

    Stanley G. Rockson

  3. La Jolla, California, USA

    John Bergan

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Rockson, S.G. (2018). General Overview. In: Lee, BB., Rockson, S., Bergan, J. (eds) Lymphedema. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52423-8_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52423-8_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52421-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52423-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation