Leaking Lymph

For all our flesh and bone, 60 percent of the human body is water. It doesn’t just slosh about but rather is kept in line by several intricate bodily systems, including a network of tubes and ducts known as the lymphatic system. A faulty lymphatic system can result in lymphoedema, a condition where the extremities swell up as fluid collects where it shouldn’t. Hoping to learn more about the human lymphatic system and why it breaks down, researchers examined structures called lymph collectors (pictured). New markers were found to identify these structures, including a protein called CCBE1 (green). Mutations in the CCBE1 gene cause Hennekam syndrome, a disease that unsurprisingly involves lymphoedema. Delving deeper into the human lymphatic system enables us to gain a better understanding of its workings in health and disease.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image from work by Viktoria Hasselhof and Anastasia Sperling, and colleagues
• Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University Medical School Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS One, October 2016