Library · Physiology
Lymphatic drainage
Make it clearer
Lymph, the fluid left over in the tissues, does not travel just anywhere: each region of the body has its own route and its own regional nodes, which are the first group of nodes that region drains into.
The route goes in stages. Lymph enters a group of nodes, leaves it through the efferent vessels, the outgoing ones, and continues on to the next group, forming chains. Those chains finally empty into lymphatic trunks, which are thicker vessels; the ones from the axilla, for example, go to the subclavian trunk, named that way because it runs under the clavicle.
And it all ends at two drains. The right lymphatic duct collects almost the entire right upper quadrant of the body: that arm, that side of the head and neck, and the upper right part of the trunk. The thoracic duct collects almost everything else.
It is a system of tributaries: streams that merge into rivers, rivers that reach two outlets.
In brief
Lymphatic drainage is the orderly route by which lymph from each region of the body passes through its regional nodes and converges into the large lymphatic ducts.
Lymph leaves one group of nodes through efferent vessels toward the next, and the chains end in lymphatic trunks, such as the subclavian trunk in the case of the axilla.
Everything converges into two ducts: the right lymphatic duct collects almost all of the right upper quadrant, and the thoracic duct collects almost everything else.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAnatomy, Lymph Nodes, StatPearlsPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAnatomy, Lymphatic System, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated