The lymphatic vascular system plays important roles in the maintenance of tissue fluid homeostasis, in the mediation of the afferent immune response, and in the metastatic spread of malignant tumors to regional lymph nodes. It consists of a dense network of blind ending, thin-walled lymphatic capillaries and collecting lymphatics that drain extravasated protein-rich fluid from most organs and transport the lymph via the thoracic duct to the venous circulation (1). Originally discovered as “milky veins” by Gasparo Aselli in the 17th century (2), the mechanisms controlling the normal development of lymphatic vessels and the molecular regulation of their biological function have remained poorly understood in contrast to the rapid progress made in elucidating the formation and molecular control of the blood vascular system (3, 4).
100 yr ago, Florence Sabin proposed that the lymphatic system develops by the...
