HAS MODERN TECHNOLOGY CHANGED OUR CONCEPT OF LYMPH FORMATION?

FC Courtice

Abstract


The process of lymph formation is basic
to all thinking on lymphatic function, yet it
still arouses the curiosity of researchers. Indeed,
the mechanisms involved in this
seemingly simple phenomenon have
aroused the curiosity of a great number of
investigators since the discovery of the lymphatic
vessels in the early part of the 17th
century. From this time our understanding
of lymph formation progressed gradually up
to the end of World War II, more or less in
parallel with the leisurely pace of research.
Since 1945, however, the tempo of research
has quickened with onset of the so-called
technological era. It is pertinent to ask,
some 40 years later, whether our concept of
lymph formation has changed as a result of
advances in technology and an increased
tempo of research.


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