178 



ANATOMY FOR NURSES 



[Chap. X 



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Fig. 114. — The Lymph 

 Nodes and Vessels of the 

 Lower Limb. (Gerrish.) 



to a sponge placed in a snugly fitting 

 rubber bag. The rubber bag connects 

 on one side with a rubber tube repre- 

 senting the afferent lymph vessel, and 

 from the opposite side there leads away 

 from the rubber bag another tube repre- 

 senting the efferent lymph vessel. The 

 rubber bag is the representative of the 

 capsule of the node, the meshwork of 

 the sponge is comparable to the frame- 

 work of the node, and the holes in 

 the sponge to the open channels. The 

 substance of a lymph node is reticular 

 adenoid tissue. 



Location of nodes. — Lymph nodes 

 are found in great numbers in the neck, 

 thorax, axilla, groin, mesentery and 

 alongside of the aorta, vena cava in- 

 ferior, and the iliac vessels. A few are 

 found in the popliteal space and in 

 the arm as far as the elbow, but none 

 farther down the leg or forearm. They 

 are usually named from the position 

 in which they are found in the body, 

 viz. cervical in the neck, thoracic in 

 the thorax, axillary in the axilla, ingui- 

 nal in the groin, mesenteric in the 

 mesentery. 



Function of the lymph nodes. — 

 The lymph nodes serve two important 

 purposes : — 



(1) As filters for the lymph. — In 

 this way they act as safety-valves 

 and serve to retard the spread of 

 infection through the body. If any 

 portion of the body is infected, the 

 poison may be carried by the lym- 

 phatics to their special nodes. There its 

 course is stopped and the node may 

 suffer enlargement or even break down 



