A Study Of The Distribution Of Lymphatic Tissues In Supporting Ligaments Around The Cervix Uteri

Objective To observe the distribution of lymphatic tissues in supporting ligamentsaround the cervix uteri.Methods After incised the entire cardinal ligaments,uterosacral ligaments andvesicouterine ligaments of9adult female cadavers,HE staining and immunohistochemicalanalysis of different positions of paraffin sections of these ligaments were performed toobserve the distribution of lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels by using D2-40,a specificmarker of lymphatic endothelium cell.Results4lymph nodes were identified in three cadavers.1and3（25%） lymphnodes were found in uterosacral ligaments and cardinal ligaments respectively. Theylocated in the cranial side of the cardinal ligaments at a distance of2.0cm from cervixuteri,and the cranial side of the uterosacral ligament at a distance of4.0cm from cervixuteri.No lymph node was found in the vesicouterine ligaments. The lymph nodes in thecardinal ligaments was present bilaterally only in a cadaver.The features of the lymphaticvessels in all ligaments were similar.The lumen was large and irregular and the wall wasthin and intermittent.There was large space between the endothelial cells and no completebasement membrane.The lymphatic vessels were dispersed in the cardinalligaments,scattered in the cervical side of uterosacral ligaments,and distributedoccasionally in the vesicouterine ligaments.Conclutions Lymphatic tissues were few in the supporting ligaments around thecervix uteri.Most of lymph nodes were located in the medial and crania side of the cardinalligaments.