Lymphatics of the Human Pulmonary Alveoli: Preliminary Report

¹ Clinical Instructor of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

The subpleural lymphatics of a normal human lung were injected with a dilute, green-colored latex solution after the long had been made edematous by normal saline infusions. The tracheobronchial tree was then filled with a white latex, following which the preparation was submerged in concentrated HCl to achieve corrosion of the tissues. Microscopic dissection of the model revealed that there were lymphatic capillary networks not only on the subpleural alveoli but also on alveoli within the lobules. During the microdissection a cluster of intralobular alveoli was found in which the capillary vessels in addition to being injected with latex were also outlined by deposition of carbon particles alongside their walls. This gave credence to the belief that the capillaries were, indeed, lymphatic in nature. The difference between the lymphatic and blood capillary networks have been described.