Cardiovascular lymphoscintigraphy

Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983 · Surgery; (United States)

OSTI ID:5546601

Castronuovo, Jr, J J; Lopez-Majano, V; Flanigan, P; Schuler, J J; Jonasson, O

The technique of lymphoscintigraphy when applied to the heart and blood vessels correlates well with results of anatomic investigations of arterial and cardiac lymphatic vessels reported in the literature. Five dogs and eight rabbits underwent lymphoscintigraphy of the heart and aorta, as well as the iliac, femoral, and tibial arteries. After surgical exposure, approximately 500 microCi of /sup 99m/Tc-labelled antimony sulfide was injected into the myocardium or the adventitial-medial plane of an artery. The colloid particle size of 4 to 12 m mu causes resorption and transport only via the lymphatic vessels. Twenty-one preparations were imaged from 2 to 48 hours after administration. This method provides a functional demonstration that the tibial and femoral arteries of both species are invested with lymphatics. The first echelon of lymph nodes which drain muscular arteries are imaged within 2 hours. Regional lymph nodes could not be seen to drain the aorta or iliac arteries. Anterior left ventricular myocardial injection in the dog showed a single cardiac lymph node. This drainage pattern has been described previously by other investigators. In the rabbit a similarly placed injection visualized a group of regional cardiac nodes. Ligation of the collecting ducts afferent to the cardiac node in the dog prevented removal of the isotope from the heart at 3, 6, and 9 hours. At 24 hours the liver and spleen were imaged, the radiocolloid gaining entrance to the blood vascular system presumably via myocardial lymphaticovenous anastomoses. Lymphoscintigraphy reflects physiologic processes such as lymph transport, filtration, and reticuloendothelial function. It defines regional patterns of cardiac and arterial lymph drainage. It can confirm experimentally produced impairment of lymph drainage from a defined area of tissue. Lymphoscintigraphy should be useful in the investigation of the significance of lymph drainage to diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

• Research Organization: Department of Surgery and Radiology, Cook County Hospital, Chicago, IL
• OSTI ID: 5546601
• Journal Information: Surgery; (United States), Journal Name: Surgery; (United States) Vol. 94:2; ISSN SURGA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550601* -- Medicine-- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
ANATOMY
ANIMALS
ANTIMONY
AORTA
ARTERIES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BIOMEDICAL RADIOGRAPHY
BLOOD VESSELS
BODY
BODY FLUIDS
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DOGS
ELEMENTS
HEART
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LYMPH
LYMPH VESSELS
LYMPHATIC SYSTEM
MAMMALS
MATERIALS
MEDICINE
METALS
MUSCLES
MYOCARDIUM
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
RABBITS
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIOLOGY
SCINTISCANNING
SPLEEN
TECHNETIUM 99
TECHNETIUM ISOTOPES
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES