Figure 26. Lymph node.
(d) Medullary cords. Once inside the lymph node, the lymph must wind
its way along the medullary cords of sinuses. These sinuses are lined by reticulum cells
that are capable of ingesting foreign material. This removes unwanted materials before
they can be emptied into the blood.
Section II. THE LIVER
27.
INTRODUCTION
When the liver malfunctions, it will ultimately affect metabolic processes
occurring throughout the body. In turn, the materials or products resulting from an
abnormal liver will directly or indirectly affect body fluids analyzed in the medical
laboratory. A knowledge of the liver should provide some understanding of what
changes can occur in samples analyzed in the laboratory.
a. Position. The liver, located in the upper right quadrant of the abdominal
cavity, is juxtapositioned (beside) to the inferior surface of the diaphragm.
b. Structure. The liver is composed of four lobes: the right, left, caudate, and
quadrate lobes. The right and left lobes are the largest lobes of the liver. A
conspicuous external duct system emerges from the inferior side of the liver. A right
and left hepatic duct depart from the right and left lobes respectively. The two ducts
then fuse forming a common hepatic duct. The common hepatic duct joins the cystic
duct from the gallbladder and beyond this junction the duct is termed the common bile
MD0851
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