title: Lymphatic system in human dilated cardiomyopathy.
abstract: Lymph capillary features have been investigated in human hearts from subjects affected by dilated cardiomyopathy. The edematous myocardial regions present dilated lymph capillaries with a slightly indented endothelial wall. The intercellular adhesions are not especially intricate; the open junctions between contiguous endothelial cells are more numerous than in normal conditions. In the myocardial areas affected by interstitial fibrosis the lymph capillaries are scanty and subtle. The morphological features, evident in the edematous and the fibrotic regions of the hearts affected by dilated cardiomyopathy, are compared with those induced in the myocardium by damaging the lymph flow experimentally. Our observations suggest a differential response of the lymph system to modified conditions of the tissue and the interstitium.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Istologia ed Embriologia Generale, Università di Pavia, Italia.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marchetti
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poggi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Calligaro
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arbustini
mesh_terms: D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008208:Lymphatic System / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron