Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/646

LYMPH. 572 LYNCH. puscles which do not in any respect difler from the colorless blood-cells, molecular granules, fat- globules, and occasiunally blood-corpuscles. The chemical constituents of lymph seem to be pre- cisely the same as those of blood, excepting the substance peculiar to the red corpuscles. The lymph seems to owe its origin to two distinct sources, viz. to the ultimate radicles of the lymphatic system, which contribute the honiogencijus lluid "p<"o"i i""' the lymphatic glands, which contribute the corpuscles, granules, etc., seen under the microscope. The lymphatics convey the lymjih into the reccptac'iilum chyli, a long pouch which lies along the spinal column, <u- into the thoracic duct, which is a prolongation of the pouch, and finally empties into the left subclavian vein. The lym- phatics of the intestine carry chyle, during the process of digestion, which they empty into the receptaculuDi. They are known as lacteals. From experiments on aninials, it has been inferred that upward of 28 pounds of lymph and chyle pass daily into the blood of an adult man. The uses of the fluid are twofold: in the first place, to convey from the tissues to the blood effete mat- ters, to be afterwards excreted by the skin, lungs, and kidneys; and secondly, to supply new ma- terials for the formation of blood. The term lymph has been applied to the fluid taken from the vaccinia vesicle and employed in vaccination (q.v,). It has also been applied to serums prepared from cultures of bacteria and used in inoculating for the prevention or treat- ment of various germ diseases. (See Antitoxin; Serum Therapy.) The name was also given in 1890 to the preparation made by Robert Koch (q.v.) from cultures of the tubercle bacilli, and used as a test for the presence of tuberculosis. This preparation was called Koch's lymph, or tuberculin. See Tuberculo.sis. Beginning about 1899, a substance called 'goat- lymph' came into vogue among the ignorant and credulous, to which was ascribed marvelous re- cuperative powers. It was claimed to be a cure for the debility of age. This 'lymph' is a fluid ob- tained by macerating goats' testicles in fluid, and Is a copy of the old and discredited 'Brown- Sequard's cli.xir.' (See Brown-S^quard.) In such a lluid there exist certain ptomaines, w-hich cause a temporary stimulation when injected into the body and taken up by the circulation. See Lymphatic. LYMPHATIC, A vessel containing lymph (q.v.), also called an absorhent, from the prop- erty which it possesses of absorbing foreign mat- ters into the system and carrying them into the circulation. The lymphatic system includes not only the lymphatic vessels and the glands through which they pass, but also the lacteals (q.v.), which are nothing more than the lymphatics of the small intestine, and only differ from other lymphatics in conveying chyle (q.v.) instead of lymph during the latter part of the digestive process. The lymphatics are minute, delicate, and trans- parent vessels, of tolerable uniformity in size, and remarkable for their knotted appearance, which is <ue to the presence of numerous valves, for their frequent dichotomous divisions, and for their division into several branches before enter- ing a gland. They collect the products of diges- tion and the products of worn-out tissues, and convey them into the venous circulation near the liearl. They are found in nearly every texture and organ of the body, excepting the substance of the brain and spinal cord, the eyeball, cartilage, tendon, and certain foetal strictures, and possibly al.so the substance of bone. The lymphatics are arranged in a superficial and a deep set. The supcrllcial vessels on the surface of the body lie immediately beneath the skin, and join the dee]) lym])halics in certain points tlirough perforations of the deep fascia; while in the interior of the body they lie in tbc submucous and subserous areolar tissue. They arise in the form of a network, from which they pass to lymphatic glands or to a larger trunk. The deep lympluitics are larger than llie superficial, and accompany the deep blood-vessels; their mode of origin is not known with certainty. The structure of the lymphatics is similar to that jf veins and arteries. The lymphatic or absorbent glands are small, solid, glandular bodies, varying from the size of a hemp-seed to that of an almond, and situated in the course of the lyinphatic vessels. They are found in the neck (where they often become en- larged and inflamed, especially in scrofulous sub- jects), in the axilla, or arm|)it. in the groin (where, when inflamed, they give rise to the condition known as bubo], and in the ham; while deep ones are found abundantly in the abdomen and the chest. The lymph of the left side of the trunk, of both legs, of the left arm, and the whole of the chyle is conveyed into the blood by the thoracic duct, while the lymph of the right side of the head, neck, and trunk, and of the right ann enters the circulation, at the junction of the axillary and internal jugular veins on the right side, by a .short trunk, guarded at its opening bj' valves. Among affections involving the lymphatic sys- tem are inflammation of the lymph-glands in scrofula; swelling of the lymph-glands in pul- monary cancer, in tul)erculosis, and in inflamma- tion of the mouth and tongue ; tumors involving the lym])h-glands; lymphosarcoma, leucocy- thipmia, etc. LYN'CEXJS. (1) In Greek mythology, a son of Aphareus, famed for his powers of sight. He was a participant in the Caledonian Hunt and the Argonautic Expedition, and was slain by Pollux. (2) The husband of Hypermnestra, and the only one of the fifty sons of .'Egj'ptus whose life was spared by his wife, LYNCH, Charles (17.30-96), An American pioneer, ]iolitician. and soldier. He was born at Chestnut Hill in Virginia. When nineteen years old he became one of the pioneers of Bedford County. In 1707 he was elected to the House of Burgesses, and it was largely due to bis influ- ence that Virginia sent those instructions to her delegates in Congress which led to the Declara- tion of Independence. In 1774 he was elected justice of the peace, and in 1778 was appointed colonel of militia. It was in both these char- acters that he acted when, in 1780, just as he was about to lead his cavalry regiment to assist in repelling the British invasion, a formidable conspiracy was discovered among the Tories of Bedford County. He employed his troops to se- cure tlic ringleaders, and then, as justice of the peace, condemned them to terms of imprisonment, as that was the only way of keeping them out of I