Lymph Vessels of the Omentum

The lymph vessels of the right half of the omentum (Figures 25: f; 26: 15) are usually accompanied by the blood vessels (veins) as they travel to the omental lymph node (Figure 25: 1) and the duodenal lymph node (Figures 25: 2; 26: a). In the absence of the omental lymph node, all the lymph vessels drain directly to the duodenal lymph node. The lymph vessels of the left half of the omentum drain to the splenic lymph nodes (Figures 25: 4; 26: d, d’). The lymph vessels of the ventral and dorsal walls of the omental bursa behave in the same way, except the lymph vessels of the right half of the ventral wall (Figure 26) drain only to the duodenal lymph node, not to the omental lymph node.

The larger trunks of lymph vessels most likely all run in the strips of fat on the omentum. In one case, a lymph vessel in the dorsal wall of the omental bursa travelled over the pancreas directly to the left hepatic lymph node (Figure 26: c).