One of the ways the body fights disease is through the lymphatic system which filters and removes debris from the body. Small, circular glands, called lymph nodes, are responsible for the main work of the lymphatic system. The lymph nodes are connected to each other by a series of vessels called lymphatics which make up a large network of vessels throughout the body. The spleen, a large organ located in the abdomen, is also connected to the lymphatics.

The lymphatic vessels pick up some of the fatty products of digestion called chyle. They also pick up fluids which escaped from the blood vessels in the tissues. The chyle and other fluids together are called lymph. The lymph is carried in larger and larger vessels until they all converge in the chest and deposit the lymph in the large veins leading to the heart.

The fluids picked up from the tissues in the body are filtered through the lymph nodes before they proceed on in the lymphatics and mix with the chyle in the large lymphatic vessels. The lymph nodes filter out cellular waste products and foreign material in the fluid including potentially dangerous infectious particles like bacteria and viruses.

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