The lymphatics of the skin filled by a dermal backflow: an observation in a scarred cadaver leg.
There have been few photographic studies done on lymphatics of human skin with previous images obtained by indirect dye injection into the dermis. We have developed a direct injection technique for investigating the lymphatic system in human adult cadavers and used this to investigate superficial lymphatics of the legs in a fresh human cadaver. We found an unusual observation in a skin graft scarred leg when the radio-opaque mixture injected into a lymph collecting vessel in the dorsal foot filled the skin lymphatics in the mid-lateral pretibial region. Further radiological investigation revealed that the dermal back flow was associated with a blockage of the lymph collecting vessel within the skin graft scar. We also found tracer transport through a circuitous pathway from the blocked collecting vessel to an adjacent intact collecting vessel. The transilluminated image of the skin demonstrated a three dimensional polygon of lymph capillaries and precollecting lymphatics in the dermis.
Suami
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H
The Jack Brockhoff Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Research Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. hsuami@unimelb.edu.au
Pan
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WR
Taylor
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GI
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002102:Cadaver; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000473:pathology*; D008208:Lymphatic System / Q000473:pathology*; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*