Lymphatic System Overview - Anatomy & Physiology

Structure

The lymphatic system can be divided into two anatomical subsets:

• Lymphatic Vessels
  • Vessels that carry lymph around the body
• Lymphoreticular System
  • Consisting of the lymphoid tissues
    • Primary lymphoid tissues: Appendix, bone marrow, bursa of Fabricius, foetal liver, ileal Peyer's patch and thymus
    • Secondary lymphoid tissues: Spleen, lymph nodes, regional lymphoid tissue and tonsils

Functions

The lymphatic system has three functions:

1. Immune defence
2. Removal of interstitial fluid from tissue
3. Transport of fat

Immune defence

This is a broad topic area.

Immune functions are covered broadly under the primary and secondary lymphoid tissues of the lymphoreticular system with further information under the immunology section.