Ascending vasa recta are angiopoietin/Tie2-dependent lymphatic-like vessels

Y Kenig-Kozlovsky, RP Scott, T Onay… - Journal of the …, 2018 - journals.lww.com
Urinary concentrating ability is central to mammalian water balance and depends on a
medullary osmotic gradient generated by a countercurrent multiplication mechanism.
Medullary hyperosmolarity is protected from washout by countercurrent exchange and
efficient removal of interstitial fluid resorbed from the loop of Henle and collecting ducts. In
most tissues, lymphatic vessels drain excess interstitial fluid back to the venous circulation.
However, the renal medulla is devoid of classic lymphatics. Studies have suggested that the …