Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 11, 2026
Long-Term Catheterization of the Intestinal Lymph Trunk and Collection of Lymph in Neonatal Pigs
Published on: March 5, 2016
Elucidation of Percutaneously Accessible Lymph Nodes in Swine: A Large Animal Model for Interventional Lymphatic
Dara Kraitchman1, Ihab Kamel1, Clifford Weiss2
1Departments of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Center, Sheikh Zayed Tower, Suite 7203, 1800 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21287.
Purpose:
To define percutaneously accessible, anatomically reproducible swine lymph nodes using magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, and ethiodized oil (Lipiodol; Guerbet, Bloomington, Indiana) lymphangiography.
Materials And Methods:
Five adult female swine (Yorkshire, 50-60 kg) were used. Under general anesthesia, T1-weighted and T2-weighted, coronal and axial images of the entire swine were obtained. The animal's extrathoracic, extraperitoneal soft tissues from the neck to the groins were examined with ultrasound. Lymph nodes ≥ 1 cm were marked before the animal was transferred to the angiography suite. Under ultrasound guidance, the nodes were accessed, and lymphangiograms were obtained. The imaging findings between the 3 modalities were correlated, and the lymph node drainage was mapped.
Results:
Four lymph nodes/lymph node groups were identified that were reproducible in all 5 animals, > 1 cm and percutaneously accessible: submandibular node, superficial cervical lymph node group, subiliac node, and superficial inguinal lymph node group. Drainage of these nodes mirrored human anatomy. The abdominopelvic lymphatics formed a retroperitoneal cisterna chyli and drained cephalad via a thoracic duct.
Conclusions:
The swine exhibits reproducible lymphatic anatomy with at least 4 percutaneously accessible lymph nodes/lymph node groups. Based on these results, the swine may be a suitable large animal model for research into lymphatic interventions.
