Communication between lymphatic and venous systems in mice.

The lymphatic system in mice consists of lymphatic vessels and 22 types of lymph nodes. Metastatic tumor cells in the lymphatic system spread to distant organs through the venous system. However, the communication routes between the lymphatic and venous systems have not been fully elucidated. Here, we identify the communication routes between the lymphatic and venous systems in the axillary and subiliac regions of MXH10/Mo-lpr/lpr inbred mice, which develop systemic swelling of lymph nodes up to 10mm in diameter, allowing investigation of the topography of the lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels. Using a gross anatomy dissection approach, the efferent lymphatic vessels of the proper axillary lymph node were shown to communicate with the subclavian vein. Furthermore, we found that the thoracoepigastric vein, which connects the subclavian vein and inferior vena cava, runs adjacent to the subiliac and proper axillary lymph nodes, and receives venous blood from these lymph nodes routed through small branches. The direction of blood flow in the thoracoepigastric vein occurred in two directions in the intermediate region between the proper axillary lymph node and subiliac lymph node; one to the subclavian vein, the other to the inferior vena cava. This paper reveals the anatomy of the communication between the lymphatic and venous systems in the axillary and subiliac regions of the mouse, and provides new insights relevant to the investigation of the mechanisms of lymph node metastasis and cancer immunology, and the development of diagnostic and treatment methods for lymph node metastasis, including drug delivery systems.