Lymphology

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Lymphology (from the Latin lympha "water" and the suffix -logia "the teaching of") is a branch of medicine and biomedical science that deals with the lymphatic system . Both the physiological functions of the lymphatic system and the diseases in which the lymphatic system plays a role are researched.

There is no specialist training in lymphology, so lymphologist is not a protected name. The treatment of diseases of the lymphatic system is often carried out by specialists in the clinical fields of dermatology , venereology or angiology . In Germany, two professional associations are dedicated to promoting lymphological research and the training and further education of lymphological therapists: The German Society for Lymphology (DGL) and the Society of German-speaking Lymphologists (GDL).

In contrast to the acutely life-threatening diseases of the arteries (e.g. heart attack ) or veins (e.g. pulmonary embolism ), the typical lymphatic vessel disease - lymphedema - is chronic, which could also have contributed to the research into the lymphatic system and the search have been neglected in the past after effective therapies . Until recently, research on the lymphatic system was much more difficult than research on the bloodstream ; not least because of the difficulties of displaying the transparent lymphatic vessels, which only became routinely possible with the discovery of specific immunohistochemical staining techniques. The central role of the lymphatic system in the etiology of many diseases is now known. So play z. For example, the lymphatic vessels play a decisive role in the metastasis of certain tumors , and in the body's own defense against pathogens, it is the lymph nodes in which lymphocytes mature for defense against pathogens .

history

The first description of the lymphatic system can be found in Hippocrates and so Gaspare Aselli's discovery of the lymphatic vessels of the intestine is probably a rediscovery (published posthumously in 1627 in "De lactibus sive lacteis venis", Milan). Aselli describes the milky liquid that can be seen in these vessels after a meal, but incorrectly believes that they lead to the liver. The correct interpretation - that the milky fluid is channeled through the thoracic duct into the veins - is postulated for the first time by the French researcher Jean Pecquet .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Weissleder H, Schuchhardt C (Ed.): Diseases of the lymphatic system . Viavital Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-934371-53-8 .
  2. ↑ Choi I, Lee S, Hong YK: The New Era of the Lymphatic System: No Longer Secondary to the Blood Vascular System . In: Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine . tape 2 , 2012, doi : 10.1101 / cshperspect.a006445 .
  3. ↑ Wang Y, Oliver G: Current views on the function of the lymphatic vasculature in health and disease . In: Genes & Development . tape 24 , 2010, p. 2115-2126 , doi : 10.1101 / gad.1955910 .
  4. ^ Gasparo Aselli's Book Includes the First Color-Printed Medical Illustrations (1627): HistoryofInformation.com . Retrieved June 19, 2018.