It acts as the sewage system of the body to remove and filter the metabolic wastes, viruses and bacteria from the body's cells by transporting the lymph which is a high protein fluid from the interstitial spaces through a network of lymphatic vessels and pathways to the lymph nodes where the filtering and detoxification occurs. The cleansed lymph is then returned to the circulatory system. The healthy lymphatic system normally transports between 1 and 2 liters of lymph a day back to the heart for re-circulation as blood to feed the body's cells and has the capacity to transport many times that lymphatic load. Lymphedema or the swelling is caused by an impairment of the lymphatic system which radically reduces its capacity to transport, filter and detoxify the lymphatic load. There are two general types of lymphedema.
Primary lymphedema is the result of an imperfectly developed the lymphatic system.
Primary lymphedema may manifest itself in infancy, adolescence or in mid life. It can also be caused by infections, severe physical trauma, burns or surgery which unavoidably or accidently severs adjacent lymphatic pathways. There may not be an immediate manifestation of lymphedema. The triggering event may be a simple scratch, insect bite or a cut, a trauma such as blow, a needle puncture, a physical strain, sunburn or very frequently the pressure changes incurred during an airplane flight. What would normally be a temporary edema or swelling, which a healthy, full capacity lymphatic system would quickly drain away, becomes a pooling of lymph which is in excess of the capacity of the compromised lymphatic system to remove from the affected area.