Patent ID: 7097986

Claim:
A method for imaging of lymphatic vasculature in tissue, comprising the step of contacting the tissue with a monoclonal antibody selected from the group consisting of 2F8 (ATCC No. PTA-3653), 4A5 (ATCC No. HB-12698), 4E10 (ATCC No. PTA-3652), and 5F12 (ATCC No. PTA-3651 or a F(ab′)2, F(ab′), F(ab) fragment or a chimeric antibody thereof which interferes with binding of VEGF-D to a VEGF receptor-3, and detecting the occurrence of binding of said antibody to VEGF-D wherein the binding of said antibody is indicative of an image of the lymphatic vasculature in said tissue.