THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THORACIC DUCT LYMPH IN MAN

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Abstract
Thoracic duct lymph was collected frorr. 11 cadavers within 1 hr. after death, and from 10 patients during life for continuous periods of 2-13 days. The leukocyte count of the lymph varied from 210 to 5600 leukocytes per cm m. in 6-non-leukemic patients studied during life. The lymphocyte count in lymph in the leukemic patients during life usually did not exceed the lymphocyte count in the venous blood. In one patient with subleukemic lymphocytic leukemia, and then only for the first of 11 days, did the leukocyte count of the lymph exceed that of the peripheral blood. The findings of the studies conducted post-mortem in 11 patients, 10 of whom had leukemia, were similar to those obtained in vivo. In 3 patients, the lymph leukocyte count exceeded or equalled that in the blood. In the remaining 8 patients, 6 of whom had lymphocytic leukemia, the peripheral blood leukocyte number exceeded that found in the lymph. The erythrocyte number in the thoracic duct lymph obtained from patients with the leukemias was considerable, ranging up to 1.5 million per cmm. The erythrocyte count in the lymph of the non-leukemic patients was generally insignificant. The lymph platelet number varied considerably in both groups (1000 to 95,000 per cmm.) and never rose to the level found in the venous blood. The chemical composition of thoracic duct lymph closely approximated that of blood plasma with slightly reduced values of albumin and globulin. The antithrombin and prothrombin content of thoracic duct lymph closely approximated that of blood plasma with slightly reduced values of albumin and globulin. The antithrombin and prothrombin content of thoracic duct lymph in 2 patients in whom it was measured was comparable to that found in the venous blood. The cholesterol ester content of the lymph exceeded that of blood. No beneficial or deleterious effects of the procedure were observed on the clinical or hematological course of the patients studied.