Blood, 1966, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 511-520.
© 1966 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Lymphatic Drainage of Thymocytes to the Circulation
in the Guinea Pig
MASAHIKO KOTANI 1,
KANJI SEIKI 1,
AKIRA YAMASHITA 1, and
ISOO HORII 1
1 Department of Anatomy, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
1. An extensive network of lymphatic vessels coming from the thymus of
the guinea pig and carrying thymocytes to the general circulation has been
demonstrated.
2. Local accumulations or infiltrations of cells at the surface of the lobule
or in the interlobular septa have been observed through which thymocytes
appear to leave the thymus.
3. Irregular, tortuous canaliculi, resembling a lymph sinus in a lymph node,
seem to play an important role in transporting thymocytes from these accumulations to the typical lymphatic vessels.
4. The output of thymocytes via lymphatic vessels to the general circulation
is about 12.1 x 106 per day.
Submitted on May 19, 1965
Accepted on September 11, 1965
