Perforating Lymphatic Vessels in Rat Lymph Nodes

Perforating lymphatic vessels are anomalies that connect the afferent lymphatic vessels and marginal (subcapsular) sinuses with the medullary sinuses. They were found in about 5% of the retroperitoneal lymph nodes of rats. After injection of microspheres into tributary vessels, perforating lymphatic vessels, together with the subcapsular sinuses, filled and thus bypassed the most effective portion of the lymph node filter. Therefore, in experimental studies of the lymph node filter, findings may be misleading unless a search for anomalies of this type has been made.