[Lymphadenography--pioneering work of Sven Bruun and Arnfinn Engeset]

Lymphadenography is a method for direct radiologic visualization of lymph nodes following injection of fat soluble contrast medium. Sven Bruun and Arnfinn Engeset at Rogaland Hospital developed this method in 1952 and published preliminary results in 1956. They have been somewhat overshadowed by the English surgeon John B. Kinmonth who published his method on lymphangiography in 1954. Kinmonth succeeded in visualizing the peripheral lymph vessels by direct injection of water soluble contrast medium. By this technique it was not feasible to depict lymph nodes above the knee because of diffusion of medium to surrounding tissues. Lymphography is a technique that visualizes both lymph vessels and lymph nodes. This method is based on a combination of the two above-mentioned methods with injection of fat soluble contrast medium into peripheral lymph vessels. Lymphography was a very important examination which was used all over the world in the 1960s and 1970s. It has now been replaced by other examinations.