Lymph is a pale liquid in the body that helps maintain fluid balance and removes bacteria from tissues. Today, we understand that lymph plays an important role in the body's immune system. In the past, however, it was commonly believed that an excess of lymph caused sluggishness—hence the "sluggish" meaning of lymphatic. The word lymph comes from Latin lympha (meaning "water" or "water goddess"), which itself may be a modification of the Greek word nymphē, meaning "nymph." Both lymph and its related adjective lymphatic have been used in English since the 17th century.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Her dexterity, gentleness, and way with lymphatic drainage will leave you sculpted, glowing, and utterly serene. April Long, Town & Country, 25 Aug. 2022 Facial icing can temporarily calm inflammation, reduce oiliness, minimize the appearance of pores and soothe puffiness by stimulating lymphatic drainage. Noma Nazish, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Benefits of face rollers include promoting lymphatic drainage, blood flow, and relaxation. Ysolt Usigan, Woman's Day, 16 Aug. 2022 This traditional Chinese healing method of massage and lymphatic drainage uses a smooth stone or object to scrape the body. Lauren Burwell, Allure, 13 Aug. 2022 Worldwide, over one million people die from mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile, dengue, Zika, yellow fever, malaria, and lymphatic filariasis every year. Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 May 2022 Other species can spread Malaria, lymphatic filariasis, and West Nile Virus. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 10 Mar. 2022 Spa: Take a leisurely uphill walk to Percorsi Benessere Day Spa for an infrared sauna to melt away jetlag, followed by a lymphatic drainage-style massage to debloat. Mosha Lundström Halbert, Vogue, 21 July 2022 In the mid-2000s, Molina was diagnosed with stage III non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphoma, a common form of lymphatic cancer. Caroline Tien, San Antonio Express-News, 14 Jan. 2022
Noun
At-home lymphatic, gua sha, and LED light massages have also been beneficial in keeping cellulite and loose skin at bay. Bianca Salonga, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2021 Your lymphatics that control your immune system have no muscle in their walls.CBS News, 8 Apr. 2020 In 2012, research in the laboratory of Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester Medical Center, identified what appears to be the brain’s waste clearance pathway, the glymphatic (glial-lymphatic) system.Quanta Magazine, 16 Dec. 2019 But Ryan Petrie, a cell biologist at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was not involved in the study, thinks Lee’s lymphatics-on-a-chip model has promise for understanding the mechanism of integrin alpha-5 in lymphedema. Eva Frederick, Science | AAAS, 13 Dec. 2019 The scientists anxiously examined the fish for evidence that the chaotic lymphatic vessel proliferation had stopped but that nothing else had been harmed.STAT, 1 July 2019 Scraping off your dead stratum corneum cells has no effect on your lymphatics or digestive system. Lori Keong, Marie Claire, 18 Sep. 2017 Nedergaard and Helene Benveniste, a scientist at Yale University, have found evidence linking problems in the lymphatic and glymphatic systems to Alzheimer’s. David Kohn, Washington Post, 21 May 2017 Ducks’ erections are driven by lymphatic, not vascular, pressure, which means that their penises never become stiff. Richard O. Prum, The New Yorker, 17 May 2017 See More