Editing Lymphatic system (section)

===Lymphatic vessels===
{{main|Lymphatic vessel}}
[[File:2202 Lymphatic Capillaries big.png|thumb|280px|Lymph capillaries in the tissue spaces]]
The [[lymphatic vessel]]s, also called lymph vessels, are thin-walled vessels that conduct lymph between different parts of the body.<ref name="Robbins18">{{cite book | vauthors = Kumar V |title=Robbins basic pathology |date=2018 |isbn=9780323353175 |page=363 |publisher=Elsevier |edition=Tenth}}</ref> They include the tubular vessels of the [[lymph capillaries]], and the larger collecting vessels – the [[right lymphatic duct]] and the [[thoracic duct]] (the left lymphatic duct). The lymph capillaries are mainly responsible for the absorption of interstitial fluid from the tissues, while lymph vessels propel the absorbed fluid forward into the larger collecting ducts, where it ultimately returns to the bloodstream via one of the [[subclavian veins]].

The tissues of the lymphatic system are responsible for maintaining the balance of the [[body fluid]]s. Its network of capillaries and collecting lymphatic vessels work to efficiently drain and transport extravasated fluid, along with proteins and antigens, back to the circulatory system. Numerous intraluminal valves in the vessels ensure a unidirectional flow of lymph without reflux.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Vittet D | title = Lymphatic collecting vessel maturation and valve morphogenesis | journal = Microvascular Research | volume = 96 | pages = 31–7 | date = November 2014 | pmid = 25020266 | doi = 10.1016/j.mvr.2014.07.001 }}</ref> Two valve systems, a primary and a secondary valve system, are used to achieve this unidirectional flow.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Heppell C, Richardson G, Roose T | title = A model for fluid drainage by the lymphatic system | journal = Bulletin of Mathematical Biology | volume = 75 | issue = 1 | pages = 49–81 | date = January 2013 | pmid = 23161129 | doi = 10.1007/s11538-012-9793-2 | s2cid = 20438669 }}</ref> The capillaries are blind-ended, and the valves at the ends of capillaries use specialised junctions together with anchoring filaments to allow a unidirectional flow to the primary vessels. When interstitial fluid increases, it causes swelling that stretches collagen fibers anchored to adjacent connective tissue, in turn opening the unidirectional valves at the ends of these capillaries, facilitating the entry and subsequent drainage of excess lymph fluid. The collecting lymphatics, however, act to propel the lymph by the combined actions of the intraluminal valves and lymphatic muscle cells.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bazigou E, Wilson JT, Moore JE | title = Primary and secondary lymphatic valve development: molecular, functional and mechanical insights | journal = Microvascular Research | volume = 96 | pages = 38–45 | date = November 2014 | pmid = 25086182 | pmc = 4490164 | doi = 10.1016/j.mvr.2014.07.008 }}</ref>

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