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Human physiology, hazards and health risks
Published in Stephen Battersby, Clay's Handbook of Environmental Health, 2023
Revati Phalkey, Naima Bradley, Alec Dobney, Virginia Murray, John O’Hagan, Mutahir Ahmad, Darren Addison, Tracy Gooding, Timothy W Gant, Emma L Marczylo, Caryn L Cox
The lymphatic system is a network of lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes found along these vessels, through which lymph, a fluid derived from interstitial fluid, flows. It constitutes a route by which interstitial fluid can reach the blood vessels or the cardiovascular system. This movement of interstitial fluid as lymph to the cardiovascular system is very important because the amount of fluid filtered out of all the blood vessel capillaries (except those of the kidney) exceeds that which is reabsorbed by approximately 4 litres each day. These 4 litres are returned to the blood via the lymphatic system. In the process, the small amount of protein that usually leaks out of the capillaries is also brought back into the circulation by the lymphatic system. The lymph node cells meet the foreign substances and start off the immune response via the lymph flowing through them. Each lymph node is a honeycomb of sinuses (enlargements or sac-like dilations containing lymph) lined by macrophages with large clusters of lymphocytes between the sinuses. The spleen is the largest of the organs containing lymphoid tissue which lies on the left side of the abdominal cavity between the stomach and the diaphragm.
Introduction to Cancer, Conventional Therapies, and Bionano-Based Advanced Anticancer Strategies
Published in D. Sakthi Kumar, Aswathy Ravindran Girija, Bionanotechnology in Cancer, 2023
Cancer is a set of diseases that can arise in almost any tissue or organ of the body. Simply, it is abnormal and uncontrollable cell growth [1]. The transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells is not an important event in cancer development; however, it is the inability of the body’s immune cells to identify and kill these cancer cells, which is critical. Cancer risk is multiplied in persons who have a suppressed immune system [2]. The movement of tumor cells from a primary location to colonize distant organs, also known as tumor metastasis, is a great contributor to the deaths of most patients affected by cancer. There are various types of cancer and some of their names depend on the locations they are found, such as prostate, lung, colorectal, thyroid, liver, breast, and stomach cancer. Moreover, carcinoma is a type of cancer that affects organs or the skin, leukemia is a cancer of the blood, lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, and sarcoma is a cancer of the connective tissues [3].
Vaccines, Hepatitis B and Insulin Production
Published in Debabrata Das, Soumya Pandit, Industrial Biotechnology, 2021
The human body is susceptible to disease via a number of pathogens; these include microorganisms such as bacteria, virus, viroids, fungi, and protozoa. A defence mechanism is required by the body to fight off the pathogenic organisms and this is where the immune system makes its way into the system. The immune system defends us against germs. Germs are these pathogens themselves. The various parts of the immune system include lymphoid organs such as thymus and bone marrow, the lymphatic system along with the white blood cells, and antibodies and the spleen. Immunity (resistance) is mostly due to WBCs (white blood cells). These are produced in the bone marrow. WBCs interfere with and directly attack pathogens. They keep moving through the blood, as a patrolling system, looking for foreign particles (pathogens); when they come across one, they do their work. Lymphocytes such as the natural killer cells, T-cells, B-cells, are various kinds of white blood cell. The entire immune system is essential for resistance against pathogens. The lymphatic system is a transport system that assists in immunity by housing, carrying and transporting all the essential organs and cells to counter a microbe invasion. The toxins produced by the microbes are countered by antibodies; these recognize the pathogenic antigen and mark them for destruction. They themselves do not neutralize the toxin but mark it and then white blood cells along with other proteins come into action and neutralize the threat.
The application of indocyanine green (ICG) and near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging for assessment of the lymphatic system in reconstructive lymphaticovenular anastomosis surgery
Published in Expert Review of Medical Devices, 2021
Albert H. Chao, Steven A. Schulz, Stephen P. Povoski
Lymphedema is a chronic condition of pathological swelling or volume increase within tissues due to dysfunction of the lymphatic system, which results in retention of fluid, and in more advanced stages collagen formation and cellular proliferation of adipocytes and fibroblasts[5]. Primary lymphedema is caused by abnormal development of the lymphatic system. Secondary lymphedema is relatively more common and results from injury to a normally developed lymphatic system, such as due to infection, surgery, or radiation therapy. Symptoms of lymphedema include swelling, enlargement, heaviness, and pain in the affected tissues, as well as an increased propensity for soft tissue infections. These changes are responsible for the reduced quality of life and substantial morbidity experienced by patients with lymphedema.
A fully coupled fluid-structure interaction model of the secondary lymphatic valve
Published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, 2018
John T. Wilson, Lowell T. Edgar, Saurabh Prabhakar, Marc Horner, Raoul van Loon, James E. Moore
The lymphatic system is responsible for the transport of lymph from the tissue interstitial space to the venous return (Swartz and Skobe 2001). In addition to maintaining tissue homeostasis, the lymphatic system is also vital in immune cell trafficking, cerebrospinal fluid/nasal drainage, and lipid transport (Zawieja et al. 2011). Decreased lymphatic pumping and flow can result in a condition known as lymphedema, which results in an excess of fluid in the interstitium (Mortimer and Rockson 2014). Lymphedema is a debilitating disease that affects many patients who have undergone axillary lymph node dissection as part of their breast cancer therapy (Cariati et al. 2015). Currently, there is no cure for lymphedema and management of the disease includes physical therapy and compression bandages/garments (Gordon and Mortimer 2007).
Modelling uptake and transport of therapeutic agents through the lymphatic system
Published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, 2022
T. D. Jayathungage Don, V. Suresh, J. E. Cater, R. J. Clarke
The lymphatic system itself consists of different conduits, including the capillaries, collecting vessels, lymph nodes, trunks, and ducts. The lymphatic capillaries have an average diameter of 10-40μm (Moore Jr and Bertram 2018). These thin-walled vessels are embedded in the intercellular spaces and are connected to pre-collector vessels (diameter 50-100μm) that drain into the collecting vessels (diameter 50-500μm) situated in deeper tissue (Schmid-Schonbein 1990). This vessel network constitutes the peripheral lymphatics, and feeds into the central lymphatic vessels that ultimately return fluid to the right internal jugular vein and left subclavian vein.