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Which would be the route taken by lymph traveling from lymphatic vessels in the right leg to the bloodstream?

A) Right lumbar trunk- cisterna chyli - thoracic duct -right subclavian vein
B) Right lumbar trunk - cisterna chyli - thoracic duct -left subclavian vein
C) Right lumbar trunk - right intestinal trunk - right lymphatic duct - right subclavian vein
D) Right femoral trunk - right lumbar trunk - right lymphatic duct - superior vena cava
E) Right femoral trunk - cisterna chyli - thoracic duct - left subclavian vein

User GobSmack
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

Lymph from the right leg travels through the right lumbar trunk, cisterna chyli, thoracic duct, and finally into the left subclavian vein. The thoracic duct is responsible for draining the lower body, including both legs, and not the right lymphatic duct, which serves only the upper right side of the body.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Lymphatic Route from the Right Leg to the Bloodstream

The correct route taken by lymph traveling from lymphatic vessels in the right leg to the bloodstream is the following: Lymph travels through the right lumbar trunk to the cisterna chyli, then into the thoracic duct, and finally into the left subclavian vein. This is because the thoracic duct serves as the major drainage pathway for the lower body, including both legs, and it drains into the left subclavian vein.

To clarify, the right lymphatic duct only receives lymph from the right side of the head, neck, thorax, and the right upper limb—not from the lower limbs. Therefore, the lymph from the right leg must enter the bloodstream via the thoracic duct, and not the right lymphatic duct.

Bearing this in mind, the correct option is B) Right lumbar trunk - cisterna chyli - thoracic duct - left subclavian vein.

User Kimari
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