The human body is about 60% water.  The lymphatic system helps to keep this fluid in balance.  When the blood circulates to all the tissues in the body, it brings needed nutrients to cells and takes away waste products the cells no longer need.  However only 90% of the fluid returns through the blood stream.  To clean up the remaining 10% of fluid and any items the blood cannot transport, the body’s lymphatic system is ready to work.

The lymphatic system not only clears out the excess fluid from around the cells, but it decontaminates it in the lymph nodes that are located in many regions of the body, such as the arm, leg, neck, and abdomen.  Lymph nodes, a crucial part of the immune system, filter out and destroy toxic substances, such as harmful bacteria and viruses, cancer cells, and other foreign substances that invade the body.  Once the fluid is purified, the lymphatic system sends it back to the heart to be circulated throughout the body, so it helps maintain the necessary fluid volume in the blood. Lymph nodes also break down larger proteins for reuse in the body, so they are a natural recycling program. 

What happens when the lymphatic system doesn’t work like it should?  Stay tuned….