The lymphatic system is the way your body protects itself against unhealthy stuff. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that are present in your lymphatic system. Lymphocytic means all things having to do with lymphocytes. And lymphocytosis is the above average presence of lymphocytes.
They all start with lymph, so this blurb will starts there as well. And although your lymphatic system is a vital part of your immune system, its contribution to your overall health doesn’t end there. It is a very complex system, but this blurb primarily covers its relation to lymph and lymphocytes.
Lymph is a watery, slightly yellowish fluid that is in constant circulation throughout your body’s tissue. You could say lymph is a tissue cleansing fluid because it extracts excess fluid and unhealthy material, like waste, debris, toxins and cancer cells, out of the tissue and routes it through the lymphatic system for filtering.
Cleaned fluid is returned to your circulation and other material is sent to your liver via blood plasma for further filtering and potential excretion. Lymph is also involved in the moving stuff into your tissues, like protein, hormones and certain nutrients.
Your lymphatic system is a network of vessels, organs, ducts and tissues, specifically bone marrow, thymus, spleen, appendix, tonsils, adenoids, lymph nodes and Peyer’s patches. Your thymus and bone marrow are referred to as primary lymphatic organs because that’s where lymphocytes are produced.
Your lymphatic system is similar to the blood circulatory system, in that it’s composed of fine capillaries that merge into ever increasing sized tributaries, the largest being ducts. It has several health promoting tasks, like:
- filters blood ~ spleen
- filters lymph ~ lymph nodes
- absorb fats from food ~ lymph vessels in gastrointestinal tract
- moves fluid out of tissue & back into bloodstream ~ lymph vessels
Some of the various health problems associated with your lymphatic system include:
- filariasis
- tonsillitis
- lymphoma
- appendicitis
- lymphedema
- elephantiasis
- lymphadenitis
- lymphangioma
- enlarged spleen
- Castleman’s disease
- chronic granulomatous
- missing thymus ~ birth defect
- severe combined immunodeficiency
Another vital task of your lymphatic system is guarding against virus, bacteria and fungal infections, a vital function of your immune system. This system helps fight infectious diseases by making lymphocytes and having macrophages present in your lymph nodes.
Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that are highly concentrated in lymph. They circulate throughout the lymphatic system pinpointing antigens and attempting to destroy them.
Lymphocytes are of two general types, T cells from the thymus which maintain immunity and B cells from the bone marrow which produce antibodies. Under healthy conditions, lymphocytes account for about a quarter of your total white blood cell count.
Lymphocytosis means your lymphocyte ratio is high and may indicate you’re suffering from a health condition involving an infection, certain cancers or chronic inflammation caused by an autoimmune disorder.
The most common cause of lymphocytosis is a severe viral infection, usually mononucleosis. Some of the other health conditions that can cause a lymphocytic elevation problem are:
- syphilis
- hepatitis
- vasculitis
- brucellosis
- tuberculosis
- Epstein-Barr
- splenomegaly
- thyrotoxicosis
- toxoplasmosis
- ulcerative colitis
- Crohn’s disease
- whooping cough
- Addison’s disease
- bone marrow disorder
- connective tissue disease
- cytomegalovirus infection
- acute, chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- blood cancer ~ leukemia, multiple myeloma
With an autoimmune disorder, your lymphocytes misidentify your own tissue as foreign, causing a challenging lymphocytic problem.