The lymphatic system

Albeit often neglected, the lymphatic system serves multiple functions to the cardiovascular system, the most relevant being volume homeostasis. In this chapter we describe the anatomy and physiology of lymphatic vessels: while sharing many aspects with other components of the cardiovascular system, they also show highly specialised features, such as the intrinsic contractile activity to favour lymph drainage. We herein discuss how disturbance in lymphatic anatomy and/or function results in lymphedema and present some of the recently accumulating evidence linking cardiovascular disease to lymphatic impairment