Examination of the Thoracic Duct Lymph in Malignant Abdominal Diseases (with special reference to the pulmonary metastases)

Metastatic tumors sometimes appear in unexpected locations. As summarized by many authors there exist classically (WALTER and BATSON) five types of tumor cells spread in the venous circuit to and from the lung. Another type of tumor spread to the lung is possible by distribution of the cancer cells along the lymphatic ways and the thoracic duct, before it drains into venous system. To this type of the malignant cell distribution our study is dedicated.