lymphatic system

lymphatic system   n.  The interconnected system of spaces and vessels between body tissues and organs by which lymph circulates throughout the body.

lymphatic system [(lim-fat-ik)]

The network of small vessels and tissue spaces that move lymph throughout the body. The lymphatic system has several functions, including filtering out harmful bacteria; manufacturing white blood cells (white blood cells are produced by the lymph nodes); distributing nutrients to the cells of the body; helping to maintain the body's fluid balance by draining off excess fluids so that tissues do not swell; and assisting in the digestion of fats.

Main Entry: lymphatic system
Function: noun
: the part of the circulatory system that is concerned especially with scavenging fluids and proteins that have escaped fromcells and tissues and returning them to the blood, with the phagocytic removal of cellular debris and foreign material, and with immune responses, that overlaps and parallels the system of bloodvessels in function and shares some constituents with it, and that consists especially of the thymus, spleen, tonsils, lymph, lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, lymphocytes, and bone marrow where stemcells differentiate into precursors of B cells and T cells called also lymph system, lymphoid system

lymphatic system n.
The interconnected system of spaces and vessels between body tissues and organs by which lymph circulates throughout the body.