Historical overview of lymphangiogenesis.

The investigation of the lymphatic system has a very long and intriguing history, with several medical figures which brought important contributions. Work on the lymphatic system began in the 17th century, and by the beginning of the 19th century the anatomy of most of the lymphatic system had been described. This system is an essential component of the immune system, as well as vital to the maintenance of fluid homeostasis within the body. In this review article, I summarize the most important contributions to this field, until to the discovery of a specific lymphangiogenic factor, namely vascular endothelial growth factor-c (VEGF-C) (summarizing figure).