Question

What is lymph? How is it different from blood?

Answer 1

Lymph:

1. Lymph fluid that contains infection-fighting white blood cells.
2. When blood reaches the capillaries, some of the water and dissolved solutes are filtered out from the plasma into tissue spaces to form a tissue fluid called lymph

The lymphatic system:

1. In addition to the circulatory system, your body also has a lymphatic system that transports lymph throughout the body. Lymph fluid that contains infection-fighting white blood cells.
2. When blood reaches the capillaries, some of the water and dissolved solutes are filtered out from the plasma into tissue spaces to form a tissue fluid called lymph.
3. Some of this lymph enters tiny channels called lymph vessels. Lymph has all the elements of blood except RBCs and blood platelets.
4. Therefore, it is slightly yellowish in colour and contains a special type of white blood cells called lymphocytes, which help in fighting infections.
5. The lymphatic system consists of lymph vessels and lymph nodes. The lymph vessels resemble veins due to their thin walls and the presence of valves.
6. The lymph nodes are small globular masses of lymphatic tissue.
7. The main functions of lymph are transportation, defense, and drainage.

Lymph	Blood
It is a colorless fluid.	It is a reddish coloured fluid.
It is part of the lymphatic system	It is part of the circulatory system
It helps in body defence and is a part of the immune system.	It is involved in the circulation of nutrients, hormones, oxygen and carbon dioxide, wastes and other toxins.
It contains plasma and a lesser number of WBCs and platelets.	It contains plasma, RBCs, WBCs, and platelets.
Lymph plasma lacks proteins.	Blood plasma consists of proteins, calcium, and phosphorus.