Figure 1 (IMAGE)

Tohoku University

Figure 1

Caption

This illustration depicts a newly identified pathway, an intranodal lympho-venous shunt, within a lymph node that enables lymph fluid to flow directly into a blood vessel. Typically, lymph nodes serve as filters, trapping harmful cells. The figure illustrates that immune cells and cancer cells can occasionally pass through a tiny internal connection, entering the bloodstream from the lymph sinus within the lymph node. This discovery could shed light on how cancer spreads, how immune cells are transported, and why swelling (edema) decreases. 

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©Ariunbuyan Sukhbaatar

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