Immune function in disorders of the lymph circulation.

success hinges upon amalgamating diverse forces expeditiously, and maintaining intact lines of supply and communication. In biological warfare, the needs for immune defense are met by the blood-lymph loop (Figure 1), wherein local immune forces are constantly replenished by the bloodstream, and tissue sites are linked to systemic immune centers via lymphatics. Thus, when antigen invades tissue spaces and parenchymal cells, inflammation ensues and capillary permeability increases. As plasma pours in, antigens are swept up into lymphatics, filtered within lymph nodes, engulfed by macrophages, and processed for lymphocyte activation. &dquo;Messenger&dquo; lymphocytes then migrate from nodes through efferent lymphatics to the bloodstream, summoning reinforcements from the central lymphoid tissue. In the central