Page:Structure and functions of the body; a hand-book of anatomy and physiology for nurses and others desiring a practical knowledge of the subject (IA structurefunctio00fiskrich).pdf/38

 *tebra with a bulb-like reservoir for the lymph or chyle, the receptaculum chyli, and extends up along the spinal column for a distance of about eighteen inches to the seventh cervical vertebra, where, with the right lymphatic duct, it empties into the left subclavian vein at its junction with the internal jugular, thus establishing direct communication between the lymph spaces and the venous system. The orifices of both vessels are guarded by semi-lunar valves to prevent regurgitation of the blood.

9.—Central (superficial) lymphatic glands of the axilla. (After Leaf.)

The lymphatic glands are small oval glandular bodies and occur here and there along the course of the lymphatics. Before entering one of them the vessel breaks up into several afferent vessels which form a plexus within and then emerge again as several efferent vessels which soon unite to form one trunk. These glands occur chiefly in the mesentery, along the great vessels, and in the mediastinum, axilla, neck, elbow, groin, and popliteal space.

The lymph varies in character with the locality, being a little thicker and more opalescent in the lacteals, as the lymphatics of the small intestine are called, especi