Sentinel node (SN) biopsy has become standard in staging of cutaneous melanoma. As skin lymphatic drainage is complex, preoperative empirical assessment of SN localization is virtually impossible. Therefore in order to identify all regional lymphatic basins corresponding to a specific primary tumor is mandatory to carry out preoperative lymphoscintigraphy. In this paper we present a clinical ca...

UNLABELLED The reliability of sentinel node biopsy is dependent on the accurate visualization and identification of the sentinel node(s). It has been suggested that extensive metastatic involvement of a sentinel node can lead to blocked inflow and rerouting of lymph fluid to a "neo-sentinel node" that may not yet contain tumor cells, causing a false-negative result. However, there is little evi...

Status of lymph nodes of level IIb was examined to identify the incidence of nodal metastasis and the lymphatic drainage in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue in patients undergoing modified radical neck dissection (MRND) and sentinel node biopsy (SNB). Overall, 72 patients were divided into two groups; 38 patients (Group A) of any T and N+ or T3-T4- N0 stage underwent MRND. The surgica...

The aim of this study was to topographically map the superficial lymphatic drainage of the breast. The study was performed on 24 female cadavers. Patent blue dye was administered intradermally and subcutaneously. After visualization and dissection of the lymphatics, a schematic record of their routes was made on a transparency folio of the breast map. Afterwards, a summation was performed of al...

Severe ascites is a hallmark of advanced ovarian cancer (OVCA), yet the underlying mechanism that creates an imbalance between peritoneal vascular leakage and lymphatic drainage is unknown. Here, we identified and characterized peritoneal lymphatic vessels in OVCA mice, a model generated by implantation of human OVCA cells into athymic nude mice. The OVCA mice displayed substantial lymphangioge...

Secondary lymphedema in humans is a common consequence of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) to treat breast cancer. Remarkably, secondary lymphedema generally first appears following a delay of over a year and can be triggered suddenly by an inflammatory insult. However, it remains unclear why the apparently functional lymphatic system is unable to accommodate an inflammatory trigger. To pr...

Lymphatic vasculature drains interstitial fluids, which contain the tissue's waste products, and ensures immune surveillance of the tissues, allowing immune cell recirculation. Until recently, the CNS was considered to be devoid of a conventional lymphatic vasculature. The recent discovery in the meninges of a lymphatic network that drains the CNS calls into question classic models for the drai...

Uteri from 50 necropsied nonpregnant Japanese Thoroughbred brood mares (1-30 years of age) were investigated to clarify the histopathological characteristics of endometrosis in Japanese Thoroughbred mares and the distribution pattern of endometrosis lesions in the uterus as a whole. Endometrosis was observed in all animals over 6 years of age and in all of the 21 mares aged over 12 years of age...

Lymphedema is a chronic disease with accumulation of water and proteins in the tissue, secondary to impairment of the lymphatic transport capacity. Nowadays, probably millions of persons worldwide are suffering from the disease. Lymphedema can be primary (congenital) or secondary (acquired after e.g. lymph node excision, radiotherapy, recurrent episodes of lymphangitis). The extremities are mos...