Contrasting patterns of lymphatic and blood circulatory disorders

It is appropriate to recognize that whereas Harvey of England 'discovered' the blood circulation and Assellius of Italy the lymphatic circulation over 350 years ago, Nisimaru of Japan correctly emphasizes that the true circulation of the body is neither blood nor lymph but rather liquid or water, rapid in the bloodstream, and sluggishly in the tissue spaces and lymphatics. Throughout the animal kingdom, from the jelly-fish with its interstitium in direct equilibrium with surrounding ocean water, to man with highly compartmentalized extracellular fluid spaces, the constant replenishment of fresh water is paramount to survival. When blood flow fails, the manifestations are often immediate, self-evident, and potentially life-treatening. When the breakdown occurs in tissue fluid or lymph flow, on the other hand, the outcome though more subtle is no less inexorable, sometimes irreversible, and often equally devastating.