Lymphatic system

Safee-ullah.babar
 What is the lymphatic system
The lymphatic system is a part of the circulatory system, which consists of lymph
nodes and lymph vessels. There are three main functions of the lymphatic system
which include a drainage system, transporting of fluid from tissues into the blood
and fighting infections using lymphocytes which are white blood cells. To conclude
the lymphatic system gets rid of any waste products from the cells.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/swollen-lymph-nodes/multimedia/lymphatic-system/img-20007995
 What are lymph nodes
Lymph travels from lymph vessels and through lymph nodes. These lymph nodes
have lymphocytes which engulf any harmful substance in the lymph. Lymph nodes
can be found all around the body, from your collarbone to your upper thighs but
mainly around the arteries. There are two main type of lymphocytes in lymph
nodes, B cells and T cells. The difference is that, the B cells have developed fully
in the bone marrow but T cells have not matured and are removed from the bone
to help fight infection in other lymphatic organs like the spleen.

https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-are-lymph-nodes.aspx
https://www.slideteam.net/0714-lymph-node-shell-medical-images-for-powerpoint.html
 Lymphatic organ tonsils
The most noticeable lymphatic organ are the tonsils. Tonsils are located in the
neck and have an important job of protecting the human body from respiratory
infections, This is when patagons, germs or viruses are inhaled into the body and
are traveling down the neck. As this happens, tonsils release lymphocytes which
then engulf the patagons before they reach the lungs.

http://www.lymphnotes.com/article.php/id/151/
https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/picture-of-the-tonsils
 Lymphatic organ spleen
Spleen is the located just under your rib cage and has an important function of
filtering the blood. By filtering the blood it removes any bacteria, viruses or any old
inactive red blood cells from the blood. Alongside removing old blood cells it also
produces new blood cells and white blood cells for the body. Additionally, it also
store platelets which are important to protect against infections through injury.

https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-Does-the-Spleen-Do.aspx
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/spleen-vector-organ-555643480?src=Rh5C9cR3VgmLXywMoW8exg-1-3
 Lymphatic organ Thymus
The thymus is a lymphatic gland which is located between the lungs. It's important
function is to train the the T cells and B cells so they are suitable for their function.
Other then training the lymphocytes, it also stimulate the production of T cells
which are inmutured cells. Then these T cells which have been produced and
trained by the thymus move to the lymph nodes where they fight infections.

https://www.endocrineweb.com/endocrinology/overview-thymus
https://visualsonline.cancer.gov/details.cfm?imageid=9268
 Lymph vessels
Lymph vessels are very important as they allow they lymph to flow through them.
These lymph vessels don't have their on pulse to push the lymph up so they rely
on the surrounding muscles to push the lymph up. As lymph vessels don't have
their own pulse, they have one way values to make sure that the lymph doesn't
flow downwards into the cells again. Lymph vessels also connect to the lymph
nodes.

https://www.quora.com/Do-all-lymphatic-vessels-have-valves-Why-or-why-not
https://study.com/academy/lesson/lymphatic-vessels-definition-function-quiz.html
https://antranik.org/the-lymphatic-system/
 Function of the lymphatic system
The lymphatic system has many roles and is very important to the human body.
One of the most important roles of the lymphatic system is to get the fluid released
by the tissue which is not absorbed by the circulatory system and bring it back to
the circulatory system using the two subclavian veins. As soon as the fluid travels
inside the lymphatic vessel ,it is called lymph. Blood has many different
components such as red blood cells which carry the oxygen to the body, white
blood cell which help fights against pathogens, platelets which prevent bleeding by
covering the damaged area or cut. Tissues are when a group of cells are working
together to perform a certain function. The main function of the lymphatic system
is to allow large molecules like lipids or hormones to travel through the lymphatic
vessel into the circulatory system. Lymph is also known as a clear fluid.
https://www.lymphoma.ca/lymphoma/lymphoma-101/cancer-basics/lymphatic-system
 What is the lymphedema?
The meaning of lymphedema is within its name. Lymph is the fluid within the
lymphatic system. Inside the lymph there are a lot of large molecules such as
hormones and lipids. Edema means build up of fluid in the body. So lymphedema
means build up lymph inside the body which can cause swelling in the body,
alongside inflammation. Inflammation is caused when protein and cellular debris
are blocked as the trigger inflammatory reaction. Other than inflammation, there
are other symptoms of lymphedema, such as headaches and fatigue.

http://hawkgrips.com/treat-lymphedema-hawkgrips/
https://www.myvmc.com/medical-centres/cancer/lymphatic-system/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD9AdNXSQe4
 Causes of lymphedema
There are other causes of lymphedema, such as cancer treatment which involves
removing lymph nodes or trauma of the nodes. The reason why removing lymph
nodes can cause lymphedema is because when you remove certain lymph nodes,
you are blocking the lymphatic system from transfering the lymph to the heart
which cause the lymph to overflow as the amount of lymph increase overtime.
Kathy Bates developed lymphedema after her operation to remove infected
cancerous lymph nodes to cure her breast cancer. Other way to develop
lymphedema is by damaging the nodes. This is very common in the military
because a lot of soldier are victim to injury including their lymph nodes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MyvBhK5ylI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD9AdNXSQe4
How lymphedema affects kathy bates
Lymphedema affected kathy bates after her cancer treatment in which removed 19
lymph nodes from her left and three from her right. That ment that her
lymphedema on her left arm was worse than the lymphedema on her right arm.
Right after the operation to remove the nodes, Kathy felt instantaneous
sympthoms. Some of which were severe headaches and swelling mostly on the
left arm. Later she was diagnosed with lymphedema. With lymphedema Kathy
showed signs of weakness as she stated in a interview that lifting items more than
8 pounds was a problem for her and could cause her to progress lymphedema for
the worse.
Kathy Bates treatment for lymphedema
The reason why Kathy Bates had lymphedema was because of her two treatments for
cancer. Through chemotherapy and surgery to remove the lymph nodes, Kathy developed
lymphedema. Kathy bates lymphedema caused a lot of problems for her and her doctor. Dr.
Iker suggested some treatment for her lymphedema. One of which is compression sleeves
which compress the limb so it the swelling and inflammation decrease. Also the compression
sleeves help the lymph get back into the circulatory system by giving pressure as the
lymphatic system has no pulse of its own so it relies on the surrounding muscles. Other
treatment Kathy Bates uses is massage every night which also reduces the swelling and
inflammation at the arms alongside helping the her lymph flow as massaging also give the
limb a pulse which helps to move the lymph. She could have got a operation to help her
lymph flow more easily, however the cons outweigh the pros. With the operation, the
recovery time is massive thing as she will not be able to even move. Additionally, the cost of
the operation is also very expensive therefore a regular massage is better for the long run.
 Other treatments for lymphedema
Other treatment for lymphedema would be skin care and exercising. The skin
would have to be looked after properly through moisturisers and exfoliation to
make sure that no other infection occur. Exercising will also make it the victim
more physically active which can help with fluid drainage because when you
exercise you are giving the limb pulse and therefore the muscle contract allowing
the lymph to flow. Another benefit of exercising would be that the victim will start to
develop stronger muscle which can help with other simple things in life such as,
carrying more weight which in Kathy Bates case would help with her job or even a
better physique which can make a person more attractive.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lymphoedema/treatment/
https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/physical-side-effects/lymphedema/what-is-lymphedema.html