Lymphatic vessels of healthy and inflamed gingiva.

Lymphatic vessels were traced in healthy and early inflamed gingivae of various nonhuman primates. Lymphatic capillaries and primary collecting vessels originated in the connective tissue papillae and stroma near or adjacent to the attachment epithelium. They emptied into thin-walled irregular-shaped collecting vessels that drained into the periodontal ligament. In early inflammation, all the lymphatic vessels of luminal caliber were distended within and/or surrounding the inflammatory infiltrate.