BIOM 3200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Cervical Lymph Nodes, Lymphatic Vessel, Splenic Vein

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Biomedical Sciences
• Course: BIOM 3200
• Professor: Clarence J Swanton

Document Summary

The lymphatic system consists of organs and glands that produce and or store cells and a system of lymphatic vessels that connect them to the rest of the body. The lymphatic vessels are closely associated with the circulatory system and function to return excess tissue fluids throughout the body back into the blood. The glands and organs of the lymphatic system also facilitate immune defense from disease-causing agents called pathogens. The lymphatic system begins in microscopic, blind-ended tubes located in spaces between cells throughout the entire body termed lymphatic capillaries. They are composed of a flattened layer of endothelial cells (further covered in unit 9) attached to a basement membrane. This configuration confers lymphatic capillaries with an extremely permeable surface that facilitates water, ions, peptide and proteins entry from the interstitial spaces. Once interstitial fluids enter the lymphatic capillaries, it becomes lymph or lymph fluid and flows into larger lymphatic vessels.