Chapter 20 - lymphatic system Flashcards
What is the lymphatic system and what does it consist of?
returns fluids leaked from blood vessels back to blood
- network of drainage vessels (lymphatic vessels)
- fluid (lymph)
- structures that cleanse lymph (lymph nodes)
What is the function of lymphoid organs and tissues?
Provide structural basis of immune system
- body’s defense mechanisms and resistance to disease
- structures include spleen, thymus, tonsils, lymph nodes, other lymphoid tissues
What is the hydrostatic and colloid osmotic pressures, how much fluid does it produce and what does it become a part of?
operates at blood capillaries force fluid out along the first half and them reabsorb most of it along the second half
- 3L
- interstitial fluid
What are the functions lymphatic vessels?
collect the excess protein-containing interstitial fluid and return it to the blood
- transport pathogens to lymph nodes and absorbed fats from intestine to blood
What are lymphatic capillaries, where are they not found.
blind-ended vessels that weave between tissue cells and blood capillaries
- bones and teeth
How are lymphatic capillaries operate in the brain?
astrocytes form channels that connect to lymphatics in meninges (glymphatic system)
- help drain ECF (inter and cerebro fluids) and their wastes
- malfunction plays a role in degenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s)
Why are lymphatic capillaries more permeable than blood capillaries?
- overlap loosely to form one-way minivalves
- anchored to matrix by collagen filaments, so increase ISF volume opens minivalves, allowing more ISF to enter
How does the minivalves close and why is it important?
- when pressure in the lymphatic capillaries increase, the valve closes
- to prevent lymph from leaking back out as pressure moves it along
Which tissue is lymphatic capillaries even more permeable?
inflamed tissues, to help take up larger substances
- cell debris and pathogens, even cancer cell
What are lacteals in the small intestine and what is the structure set up?
a specialized set of lymphatic capillaries for absorption and transport of digested fat
- one central lacteal in each fingerlike villus of the intestinal mucosa
- fatty lymph (chyle) joins rest of lymph, eventually entering blood
How do large lymphatic vessels drain?
lymphatic capillaries drain into increasingly larger and thinker-walled channels
What is the collecting lymphatic vessels composition, location and formation?
- have all three tunica, but thinner and move valves and anastomoses
- In skin: travel in superficial veins or deep vessels of trunk travel with deep arteries
- larger vessels unite to form lymphatic trunk
How many lymphatic trunks are there and what are the 2 main pairings?
9
- Left: lumbar/ broncho mediastinal and Right: subclavian/ jugular trunks
What are the 2 main ducts the trunks deliver lymph to?
- right lymphatic duct
- thoracic duct (larger)
What parts of the body does the right lymphatic duct serve and where does it drain?
- drains right upper limb and right side of the head and thorax
- drains into venous circulation at junction of right internal jugular and right subclavian
What parts of the body does the thoracic duct serve and where does it drain?
- drains the rest of the body
- empties into venous circulation at junction of left internal jugular and left subclavian veins; half of the population has an enlarged sac (cisterna chyli)
How do lymphatic vessels receive their own blood supply and what is it called when it becomes inflamed.
vasa vasorum
- severe inflammation is called lymphangitis (shown as a red streak on arm)
Lymph nodes - what is it composed of and what are the immune system cells?
- made of immune system cells found in lymphoid tissues together with supporting cells that form scaffolding
- 2 types of lymphocytes (T and B cells) protect the body against antigens
What are antigens and are the functions of the 2 types of lymphocytes?
A: anything that triggers an immune response (bacteria and their toxins, viruses, mismatched RBC, cancer cells)
T lymphocytes: activated T cells manage immune response; some directly attack and destroy infected cells
B lymphocytes: activated B cells produce plasma cells, which secrete antibodies that mark antigens for destruction by phagocytosis or other means
What is the difference between macrophages and dendritic cells?
M - phagocytize foreign substances and active T cells
DC - capture and deliver antigens to lymph nodes to activate T cells
What is a lymphoid tissue?
component of the immune system
- house and provide activation and proliferation sites for lymphocytes
- ideal surveillance location for lymphocytes and macrophages
What are the supporting cells in the lymph nodes?
reticular cells: fibroblast-like cells that produce reticular fiber stroma (network that supports other cell types) in lymphoid organs and tissues
What is the lymphoid tissue made of and what resides in it?
reticular connective tissue
- in all lymphoid organs except thymus
- spaces between fibers provide place for lymphocytes to “live” when they return from patrolling the body
What is diffuse lymphoid tissue?
loose arrangement of lymphoid cells and reticular fibers
- found in every body organ
- large collection in lamina propria of mucous membranes
What is lymphoid follicles (lymphoid nodules)?
solid, spherical bodies consisting of tightly packed lymphoid cells and reticular fibers
- have germinal centers of proliferating B cells
- can form part of larger lymphoid organs, like lymph nodes
Where are lymphoid follicles found?
- intestinal wall (of ileum) called Peyer’s patches
- the appendix
What are buboes and why does it happen?
infected lymph nodes (often pus-filled); bubonic plague named for them
- overwhelmed by bacteria they are trying ti destroy; results in inflamed, swollen, and tender nodes
Why can lymph nodes become a secondary cancer site?
- if metastasizing cells become trapped
cancer-infiltrated lymph nodes are swollen but usually not painful which helps distinguish cancerous nodes from infected
What is the primary lymphoid organs?
where T and B cells mature
- B cells mature in RBM
- T cells mature in the thymus
What is the secondary lymphoid organs?
where mature lymphocytes first encounter their antigens and become activated, include:
- lymph nodes and spleen
- mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) that form:
- tonsils, Peyer’s patches in small intestines and appendix
- diffuse lymphoid tissues