Little or nothing is known concerning the lymph supply of the marrow and cortex of bone. As early as 1875, Karl Langer found lymphatics in the periosteum, but even this phase of the subject has received little attention. If there be a definite lymphatic system draining bone, then it probably plays a rôle of some importance from a pathologic as well as from a physiologic standpoint. At the suggestion of Dr. William S. Baer, a study of the subject was undertaken. The following report includes the work done thus far, which is preliminary in nature.
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Following Langer's1 pioneer work, Budge2 and Schwalbe3 succeeded in injecting periosteal lymphatics and gave detailed descriptions of their coursing into the cortex. They pictured a network of lymph vessels in the outer layer of the periosteum connecting with a system of endothelial lined lymph spaces underneath the cambium