While both blood and lymphatic vessels transport fluids and thus share many similarities,
they also show functional and structural differences, which can be used to differentiate them.
Specific visualization of lymphatic vessels has historically been and still is a pivot point in
lymphatic research. Many of the proteins that are investigated by molecular biologists in
lymphatic research have been defined as marker molecules, ie to visualize and distinguish
lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) from other cell types, most notably from blood vascular …