Patterns of Lymphatic Drainage in the Adultlaboratory
J. Anat. (1971), 109, 3, pp. 369-383 369 With 11 figures Printed in Great Britain Patterns of lymphatic drainage in the adult laboratory rat NICHOLAS L. TILNEY Department of Surgery, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (Accepted 27 April 1971) INTRODUCTION This study was undertaken to define and elucidate patterns of lymphatic drainage in the adult laboratory rat. The incentive for the work arose from investigations into the role of regional lymphatics in the sensitization of the host by skin allografts. It has become clear that the response of rats to antigens, investigated increasingly in the available inbred strains, requires an accurate knowledge of lymphoid anatomy and lymphatic drainage routes. Examinations of the lymphatics of specific body areas of the rat have appeared sporadically in the literature, but descriptions of regional drainage patterns, especially of peripheral sites, are unavailable. Previous investigations by Job (1919), Greene (1935) and Sanders & Florey (1940) have con- centrated primarily upon the location of the lymphoid tissues. Miotti (1965) has stressed visceral drainage, and Higgins (1925) has described the lymphatic system of the newborn rat. A more complete definition of both somatic and visceral lymphatic routes is presented. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and thirty normal adult rats of both sexes, each weighing between 150 and 300 g, were studied. The animals came from five strains: each inbred - Oxford strains of the albino (AO), hooded (HO), agouti (DA), and F1 hybrid of the HO and DA strains - and 'stock' animals from a closed outbred albino colony. Under ether anaesthesia, the site for cutaneous injection was clipped or a serous cavity entered for visceral injection.
[Show full text]