Figure 1. Connections of nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus and features of deep cervical lymphatics (IMAGE)
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Figure 1. Connections of nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus and features of deep cervical lymphatics
A. The drawing shows intracranial upstream lymphatic regions #1, #2, and #3 that drain through the nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus (NPLP) en route to medial deep cervical lymphatics and deep cervical lymph nodes in mice. Upstream lymphatic region #1 includes lymphatics near the pituitary gland and cavernous sinus that drain to the NPLP. Upstream lymphatic region #2 includes lymphatics in the anterior region of the basolateral dura near the middle meningeal artery and petrosquamosal sinus (PSS) that course along the pterygopalatine artery (PPA) to the NPLP. Upstream lymphatic region #3 includes lymphatics near the cribriform plate that drain to lymphatics in the olfactory mucosa en route to the posterior nasal lymphatic plexus and NPLP. In contrast, lymphatics in the posterior region of the basolateral dura around the sigmoid sinus do not drain to the NPLP but instead, pass through the jugular foramen to lateral deep cervical lymphatics en route to deep cervical lymph nodes. Anatomical positions are indicated in the lower corner. Ant., anterior; Post., posterior; Sup., superior; Inf., inferior anatomical position.
B. The drawing highlights the lymphatic connections of the nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus to the deep cervical lymphatics and deep cervical lymph nodes for cerebrospinal fluid in humans, based on the findings obtained from the mice and monkeys in this study.
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