The Right Lymphatic Duct

This vessel (Ductus lymphaticus dexter)—when present—collects the lymph from the right side of the head, neck, and thorax, and from the right thoracic limb. It is most frequently absent, being represented by a number of short ducts which terminate in the thoracic duct, the right jugulo-brachial junction, or the origin of the anterior vena cava. When present in its typical form, it results from the confluence of efferent ducts from the right axillary and prepectoral lymph glands with the right tracheal duct. It lies on the deep face of the scalenus muscle above the terminal part of the right jugular vein. It is more or less ampullate and usually opens into the anterior vena cava to the right of the thoracic duct. It may be connected with the latter by considerable anastomoses and may join it.

The duct is very variable in form and in regard to its afferents. Often it is a very short, irregular, and bulbous trunk; in some cases it is about an inch and a half (ca. 3 to 4 cm.) in length and receives the tracheal duct at its terminal bend. The lymphatico-venous connections here need further study.