History of Lymphatic Research: Past, Now, and Future

In this review, I explained the reason why the mesenteric lymph was named “white blood” by Hippocrates in ancient Greece, as opposed to the lymph originating from other organs. Next, the relationship between Japanese Society of Angiology and Lymphology was clarified. One of topics in current lymphatic research, Glymphatic pathway demonstrated by Drs. Iliff and Nedergaard was introduced. Finally, as the impressive studies of our current lymphatic research, I addressed the findings that water intake increases mesenteric lymph flow and the total flux of albumin, long-chain fatty acids, and IL-22 in rats. The traditional Japanese health care system, known recommends that a suitable volume of water be consumed every day, e.g., by drinking green tea. However, the physiological and immunological mechanisms in support of this traditional practice are still unknown. We demonstrated as one of the mechanisms that IL-22 released from ILC-3 is transported through mesenteric lymph in collaboration with the albumin-mediated movement of consumed water. In addition, I demonstrated the study that the lymph flow rate through thoracic duct in human subjects can evaluate using changes in urine osmolarity with water intake and abdominal respiration, which are applicable for evaluating the skill of lymph edema therapists.