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00:00Uh, Moby, maybe you're leaking.
00:09Well, isn't energon fluid kind of hard to replace?
00:22You're welcome.
00:25Dear Tim and Moby, what is the lymphatic system?
00:29Sincerely, Joe.
00:32The lymphatic system is a network of tubes and organs that transports a certain kind
00:36of fluid throughout your body.
00:38Well, believe it or not, that fluid is called lymph.
00:43Lymph actually starts out as blood plasma, the liquid part of blood.
00:49Plasma is mostly water, with some glucose, proteins, and hormones mixed in.
00:54Blood is constantly pushing against the insides of our veins, arteries, and other blood vessels
00:59like water moving through a garden hose.
01:05This blood pressure causes some plasma to leak out of the capillaries, the tiniest blood
01:09vessels.
01:11The plasma hangs out in the spaces between cells, where it absorbs their waste materials.
01:17Most of the plasma gets absorbed back into the capillaries, but what happens to the rest?
01:23The leftover plasma, along with all that cellular waste, is picked up by lymph capillaries.
01:29These tiny tubes join together to form lymph vessels, just like regular capillaries join
01:34together to form blood vessels.
01:37Once the plasma is inside the lymphatic system, it's known as lymph.
01:41The lymph travels through the vessels until it reaches a lymph node.
01:45Lymph nodes remove cellular waste and germs from the lymph.
01:49The purified lymph keeps moving and eventually gets absorbed back into the blood.
01:54Well, all that is a long way of saying that the lymphatic system removes waste and excess
02:00fluid from your tissues.
02:02Diseases of the lymphatic system often interrupt that process, causing swelling and painful
02:07fluid retention.
02:08And that's not all.
02:10The lymphatic system helps us digest food, too.
02:13When food is broken down in the small intestine, most of the nutrients are sent to the liver.
02:18But not fatty acids, the nutrients that come from natural fats.
02:22These are absorbed by lymph vessels in the walls of the small intestine.
02:27The fatty acids circulate with the rest of the body's lymph and eventually end up in
02:30your bloodstream, where they can reach the cells that need them.
02:35That's true.
02:36The lymphatic system helps you fight infections, too.
02:39Bacteria, viruses, and any other harmful invaders are absorbed by the lymphatic system and sent
02:45to the nearest lymphoid organ.
02:48These include the lymph nodes, bone marrow, the thymus, and the spleen.
02:53The lymphoid organs are like factories that churn out white blood cells, the key weapons
02:58of the immune system.
03:00These special cells attack and destroy the invaders that can make you sick.
03:05Well, no, I don't think robots need a lymphatic system.
03:11Uh, how about a good mechanic?