|
FIGURE 1
Schematic of fluid flow in the lymphatic system. (a) Interstitial fluid (referred to as lymph, orange circles) containing waste, small molecular lipoproteins and plasma leak from blood capillaries and are absorbed into lymphatic capillaries through discontinuous cell‐cell junctions. Here, lymphatic endothelial cells are held in place via anchoring filaments (blue lines) attached to surrounding extracellular matrix (black lines). (b) Lymph is transported from lymphatic capillaries into collecting lymphatic vessels where unidirectional lymph flow is maintained by numerous intraluminal lymphatic valves (dark green). (c) Collecting lymphatic vessels make direct connections with a vein through a lymphovenous valve to return fluid back to the circulatory system. (d) The region between successive lymphatic valves within the collecting vessel is referred to as a lymphangion. Collecting vessels exhibit smooth muscle cell coverage (SMC, purple cells) to aid in propulsion, while the bulk of flow is stimulated by the contraction of neighboring skeletal muscles