[Lymphatic drainage of the heart]

Abstract

The study was carried out on 91 adult cadavers to point out clearly the lymphatic drainages of the heart into the blood circulation. 45 right and 63 left ventricles and 9 right and 5 left atria were injected by means of a green modified gerota medium. A right collecting trunk received its afferents from 29 right and 5 left ventricles, ran upwards in front of the ascending aorta, involved the left brachiocephalic nodes and opened into the left subclavicular veins but also in 1 case in 5 into thoracic duct. A left collecting trunk received its afferents from 59 left and 23 right ventricles, ascended along the pulmonary trunk, involved the right paratracheal nodes and opened into the right subclavicular veins. From the right paratracheal nodes were also injected the left tracheobronchial nodes in 14 cases, and then the left brachiocephalic nodes twice, the left paratracheal nodes in 3 cases until the thoracic duct once and directly the thoracic duct in the mediastinum in one case. Afferents from the right atria ran upwards the superior vena cava and involved the right brachiocephalic nodes but connected also with the right paratracheal nodes as did the afferents of the left atria too. The connections with the thoracic duct must be emphasized.