PHGY 214 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Endothelium, Muscle Contraction, Major Force
12 May 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Lymphatic system and veins: describe the need for the lymphatic system. Provides an accessory route by which fluid can be returned from interstitial to the blood. Functions much like a swear that picks up and carries away excess rainwater so that the water does not accumulate and flood an area : link, anatomically, the lymphatic system to the capillary system. The small, blind ended terminal lymph vessels known as initial lymphatics permeate almost every tissue of the body. The endothelial cells forming the initial walls of initial lymphatics slightly overlap, with their overlapping edges being free instead of attached to the surrounding cells. This arrangement creates one-way, valve-like openings in the vessel wall. Fluid pressure on the outside of the vessel pushes the innermost edge of a pair of overlapping edges inward, creating a gap between the edges. Once interstitial fluid enters a lymphatic vessel, it is called lymph.
