Lymphatic system consists of
lymph, lymph vessels, lymph
nodes, and lymph tissue
 2. Works with the circulatory
system
 3. Removes waste and excess fluid
from the tissues
 1.
 1. Thin, watery fluid
 2. Composed of intercellular or interstitial
fluid that forms when plasma diffuses into
tissue spaces.
 3. Composed of water, digested nutrients,
salts, hormones, oxygen, carbon dioxide,
lymphocytes, and metabolic wastes such as
urea
 4. When fluid enters lymphatic system, be
comes known as lymph
 1. Located
throughout
the body in
almost all
tissues that
have blood
vessels
 a. Small, open-ended lymph vessels
 b. Act like drainpipes
 c. Pick up lymph at tissues
throughout the body
 d. Capillaries join together to form
larger lymphatic vessels
 Lymphatic vessels carry lymph
 Contractions of skeletal muscles
against lymph vessels cause lymph to
flow through vessels
 Vessels pass through lymph nodes
 Contain valves that keep the lymph
flowing one way – towards the heart
 Specialized lymphatic capillaries,
called lacteals, located in area of
small intestine

a. Pick up digested fats or lipids

b. When lymph is mixed with the
lipids it is called chyle

c. Lacteals transport the chyle to
the blood stream through the thoracic
duct
 Popularly called
“glands”
 Located all over the
body usually in groups
or clusters – principal
groupings are located
in the neck, armpits,
chest, abdomen,
pelvis, and groin
 Small, oval masses
ranging in size from a
pinhead to an almond
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhXdNnTZUo
 Lymph vessels bring lymph to the
nodes
 Nodes filter the lymph and remove
impurities such as:
 Carbon
 Cancer cells
 Pathogens or disease producing organ
 Dead blood cells
 Lymphatic tissue in nodes also produces
substances such as:
 Lymphocytes: a type of leukocyte or white
blood cell
 Antibodies: substances used to combat
infection
 F. Purified lymph, with lymphocytes and
antibodies added, leaves the lymph node by
one or two lymphatic vessels
 As lymphatic vessels leave the
lymph nodes, they continue to join
together to form larger lymph
vessels
 Eventually they drain into one of
two lymphatic ducts: the right
lymphatic duct or the thoracic duct
 Short tube
 Receives all the
purified lymph
from the right side
of the head and
neck, the right
chest, and the right
arm
 Empties into the
right subclavian
vein, returning the
purified lymph to
the blood
 Much larger tube
 Drains the lymph from
the rest of the body
 Empties into the left
subclavian vein
 Enlarged pouchlike
structure called the
cisterna chyli is located
at the start of the
thoracic duct
 Serves as a
storage area
for purified
lymph
 Receives chyle
from the
intestinal
lacteals
 Located
throughout the
body in addition to
being in the lymph
nodes
 Tonsils, spleen, and
thymus are
examples of
lymphatic tissue
 Masses of lymph tissue
 Filter interstitial fluid
 Three pairs of tonsils
 Palatine tonsils on each side
of the soft palate
 Pharyngeal tonsils (also
called adenoids) located in
the nasopharynx (upper part
of the throat)
 Lingual tonsils on the back
of the tongue
 Organ located on the
left side in back of the
upper part of the
stomach
 Produces leukocytes
and antibodies
 Destroys old
erythrocytes or red
blood cells
 Stores erythrocytes to release into blood
stream if excessive bleeding occurs
 Destroys thrombocytes or platelets
 Filters some metabolites and wastes from
tissues
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CqWul
ccLMo
 Mass of lymph tissue
located in the center of
the upper chest
 Atrophies or wastes away
after puberty and is
replaced by fat and
connective tissue
 Functions during early life
 Produces antibodies
 Manufactures lymphocytes to fight
infection
 Function is taken over by lymph nodes
after it atrophies
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFXQVXJf3M