There are two circulatory systems in the body. The heart, lung and blood vessels are the main components in the blood circulatory system. The second is the lymph system.
The body has more lymph than blood and the lymph vessels are longer than the arteries. The lymph system removes metabolic by-products from the body and eliminates infectious organisms.
This illustration shows how the lymph vessels (yellow lines) run through the body. Small vessels flow into the lymph nodes (yellow dots). These contain killer cells that catch and destroy germs and bacteria. The lymph nodes that are easiest to feel are located at the back of the lower jaw bone.
The second circulatory system
Where blood flows from the arteries into the capillaries, vessel pressure presses a fluid containing oxygen and sugar through the cell membranes of the veins into the lymphatic vessels - and lymph is created.
The oxygen and sugar feed the cells. Cell waste products such as lactic acid and metabolic by-products return in part directly to the blood. The rest flows together with the lymph through the filtering lymph nodes, then through the Ductus thoracicus (central lymph vessel) and back into the bloodstream.
The lymph system can be positively stimulated through the use of the massage system.
