摘要
The Dutch physician and anatomist Frederik Ruysch[1638-1731]was back in the 17th century,one of the first to discover the lymphatic vessels and associated lymph nodes.He exposed the inguinal lymph nodes during dissection of a human cadaver;however,most of his observations were based on anatomical dissections of living animals(1).He had a wide reputation for his exceptional anatomical dissection skills.He performed an anatomical dissection of a horse three hours after the animal had eaten,and noted‘white vessels’with a milky content in the mesentery of the animal.He prepared these lymphatic vessels and after tying off on two sides,he filled a vessel with air using a fine syringe.He observed‘crescent-shaped’valves in the lymphatic vessels and concluded that the flow of lymph was directed into one direction(2).
