National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Lymphatic Diseases is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine 
National Institutes of Health
Lymphatic Diseases
The lymphatic system is a network of tissues and organs. It is made up mainly of lymph vessels, lymph nodes and lymph. Lymph vessels, which are different from blood vessels, carry fluid called lymph throughout your body. Lymph contains white blood cells that defend you against germs. Throughout the vessels are lymph nodes. Along with your spleen, these nodes are where white blood cells fight infection. Your bone marrow and thymus produce the cells in lymph. They are part of the system, too.
The lymphatic system clears away infection and keeps your body fluids in balance. If it's not working properly, fluid builds in your tissues and causes swelling, called lymphedema. Other lymphatic system problems can include infections, blockage, and cancer.
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
,
Learn More
, and
Multimedia & Cool Tools
.
For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
,
Reference Shelf
, and
For You
.
For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
For group For You
-
Overviews
- Importance of the Lymphatic System(Lymphatic Research Foundation)
-
Diagnosis/Symptoms
- How Is Castleman Disease Diagnosed?(American Cancer Society)
- Lymphoscintigraphy(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America)
- Also available in Spanish
-
Treatment
- How Is LAM Treated?(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- Treating Castleman Disease(American Cancer Society)
-
Specific Conditions
-
Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (ALPS)(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
-
LAM (Lymphangioleiomyomatosis)(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- Lymphatic Filariasis(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Mesenteric Lymphadenitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Swollen Lymph Nodes(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- What Is Castleman Disease?(American Cancer Society)
- Return to top
-
Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (ALPS)
-
Related Issues
-
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy(National Cancer Institute)
- Return to top
-
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
-
Health Check Tools
- Swollen Glands (Localized)(DSHI Systems)
- Return to top
-
Videos
- Lymph nodes - Encyclopedia
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
Anatomy/Physiology
- Spleen and Lymphatic System(Nemours Foundation)
- Return to top
-
Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Lymph Nodes(National Institutes of Health)
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Lymphatic Diseases(National Institutes of Health)
- Return to top
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Lymph Nodes
-
Genetics
-
Blood and Lymph Diseases(National Center for Biotechnology Information)
-
Genetics Home Reference: Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
-
Genetics Home Reference: Milroy disease(National Library of Medicine)
- Return to top
-
Blood and Lymph Diseases
-
Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Predicting surgical outcomes in pediatric cervicofacial nontuberculous mycobacterial lymphadenitis.
- Article: What a differential a virus makes: a practical approach to...
- Article: Temporal differences of onset between primary skin lesions and regional...
- Lymphatic Diseases -- see more articles
- Return to top
-
Organizations
-
Teenagers
- Spleen and Lymphatic System(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
Patient Handouts
- Cystic hygroma
- Also available in Spanish
- Groin lump
- Also available in Spanish
- Lymph node biopsy
- Also available in Spanish
- Lymph system
- Also available in Spanish
- Lymphadenitis
- Also available in Spanish
- Lymphangiogram
- Also available in Spanish
- Lymphangitis
- Also available in Spanish
- Lymphofollicular hyperplasia
- Also available in Spanish
- Neck lump
- Also available in Spanish
- Swollen glands
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
