Lymph Fluid Microcirculation in the Interstitial Tissues Under Your Skin

Therapists talk about lymph fluid collecting in the interstitial tissues or interstitium under our skin. How is this fluid removed by our lymphatic system?

Fluid and nutrients leave blood stream capillaries and travel through the interstitium to one’s tissues or cells. Then the excess fluid and waste travel slowly through the interstitium to collecting lymphatic vessels, starting with initial lymphatics in the upper levels of the skin.

The lymph fluid moves up the extremities through larger vessels deeper in the tissues, called collectors, passing through lymph nodes along the way. The lymph nodes filter the lymph fluid and help alert the immune system when they encounter foreign cells.

Any lymph fluid that is not returned to the venous system at the lymph nodes will continue to make its way slowly to the neck region and eventually empty into one of the large left-sided veins at the brachiocephalic vein arch.

Photo of the interstitial tissues and information provided by Dr. Shelley DiCecco.

Photo aided by Chat GPT.