| Question | Answer |
| immune response | body's defense system against infections and diseases, response to pathogens and foreign particles |
| lymphatic system | network of vessels, tissues, organs: drain and filter excess interstitial fluids to return into bloodstream, transport of nutrients, proteins, wastes, support immune reactions (intercepts pathogens), creation and transport of white blood cells |
| lymphatic organs | lymph nodes, spleen, thymus |
| lymphatic tissues | red bone marrow, tonsils, appendix, Peyer's patches |
| lymphatic circulation | occurs everywhere there is cardiovascular circulation except brain, is parallel to venous circulation, begins at capillaries (systematic and pulmonary), uni-directional (from periphery to center), low pressure system, slow moving |
| lymph | excess interstitial fluid in lymphatic circulation, is liquid connective tissue, both solid and liquid components, a derivative of plasma, water, white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, lipids, proteins, nutrients, electrolytes, hormones, wastes |
| interstitial fluid | found in the interstitial spaces, surrounds the cells, blood plasma without the plasma proteins - water, amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, enzymes, hormones, waste products, white blood cells |
| formation of interstitial fluid and lymph | via osmotic pressure and hydrostatic pressure |
| hydrostatic pressure | the outward force of a fluid on a vessel wall (a push) |
| components of lymphatic circulation | lymphatic capillaries, vessels, trunks, ducts |
| osmotic pressure | results from proteins in a compartment, attracting water like a sponge (a pull) |
| how chemical exchanges between blood interstitial and lymphatic compartments occur | because of the presence of a pressure gradient (high pressure to low pressure, or high concentration to low concentration - like a cascade) |
| lymphatic capillaries | found and intermingled with cardiovascular capillaries, start as 'closed ends', single layer endothelial cells with thinner walls and larger diameter than blood capillaries, have protein filaments to anchor to adjacent connective tissue |
| lymphatic vessels | formed from convergence of capillaries, similar to venules/veins (endothelial tissue, smooth muscle, connective tissue, valves) 2 types - afferent (into lymph node) and efferent (out of lymph node) |
| lymphatic trunk | formed by convergence of lymphatic vessels |
| lymphatic ducts | right lymphatic duct and thoracic duct, fuse with subclavian veins to return lymph to heart and blood curculation |
| right lymphatic duct | drains upper-right quadrant (head, neck, thorax, lung, heart, right upper-limb) |
| thoracic duct | drains lower limbs, abdomen, and left side, originates at cisterna chyli (anterior to L2) |
| edema | inflammation/swelling - occurs when the # of proteins in interstitial fluid is high = increased osmotic pressure in interstitial spaces = increased fluid |
| elements assisting lymph return | muscular pump (contraction of muscles), valves (stop lymph from exiting/going down), respiratory pump (vacuum created by diaphram), 'wave' action from venous vasodilation and vasocontriction |
| types of white blood cells | granulocytes and agranulocytes |
| granulocytes | white blood cells containing sacs of chemicals (histamines etc) involved in immune defence/fever/inflammation, are non-specific |
| agranulocytes | specified white blood cells, do not contain sacs of chemicals |
| types of agranulocyte white blood cells | monocytes, B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, NK cells |
| monocytes | WBC that become macrophages, ingest and digest foreign particles, pathogens, dead cells, attracted toward infection and inflammation sites |
| B lymphocytes | responsible for producing antibodies specific to the invader/pathogen |
| white blood cells | formed elements of blood responsible for immune defence mechanisms, produced by red bone marrow, circulate in lymphatic system |
| T lymphocytes | mature in the thymus to become helper T cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes, work with antibodies |
| NK cells | natural killer lymphocytes responsible for eliminating cancerous cells and cells infected by viruses |
| lymphatic organs | lymph nodes, spleen, thymus |
