Experimental evaluation on the transmission optical microscopy for the diagnosis of lymphedema.

The mechanisms of disturbance of lymph microcirculation during development postmastectomy lymphedema (PML) are little known. The study of these mechanisms on human subjects has many difficulties: time of clinical onset of PML is indefinite and unpredictable and the methods for imaging of microlymphatics are limited. The advantages of the optical methods, especially, light microscopy are the high quality of lymphocytes dynamic imaging, possibility of the determination of absolute lymph flow velocity in a wide range, capability for simultaneous registration of blood microvessel function around lymphatics. The experimental lymphedema is created on rat mesentery by ligation of the collecting vein. It was found that after such ligation edema was clearly developed, and microcirculation was significantly disturbed including reduction of lymph flow velocity, constriction of lymphatics, inhibition of phasic activity on the background of pathological increasing of blood vessels permeability and stasis of blood flow.