Library · Physiology
Lymph
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There is no air between your cells: there is fluid. The fluid that bathes the tissues is called interstitial fluid, and lymph is basically that same fluid once it has been picked up. Along with it come lymphocytes, which are white blood cells, any bacteria that happened to be around, cellular debris and plasma proteins.
And why does it have to be picked up? Because blood vessels leak. A little fluid is always escaping into the tissues, and if nobody sent it back, it would build up and you would swell. That is the job of the lymphatic vessels: they reabsorb it and return it to the blood. It is a house's drainage system: it collects what seeps out and returns it to the main pipe.
The trip back is not direct. First the lymph passes through the lymph nodes, stations where it is filtered. Once filtered, it reenters the blood at one very specific spot: where the thoracic duct empties into the subclavian vein, the vein that runs under the collarbone.
In brief
Lymph is mostly interstitial fluid, with varying amounts of lymphocytes, bacteria, cellular debris and plasma proteins.
Lymphatic vessels reabsorb it from the tissues and return it to the blood, which keeps fluid from building up.
A house's drainage: it collects what seeps out and returns it to the main pipe.
On the way back it passes through the lymph nodes, which filter it, and it enters the blood where the thoracic duct joins the subclavian vein.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAnatomy, Lymphatic System, StatPearlsPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Lymphatic System, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated