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A (delayed) history of the brain lymphatic system

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It has been only recently that scientists come to realize the existence of a lymphatic system within the central nervous system. However, an Italian anatomist had already found and described the system in fine detail over 200 years ago.

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Fig. 1: Portrait of Paolo Mascagni by S. Ricci; stipple engraving by G. Buccinelli after R. Focosi after S. Ricci.
Fig. 2: Figure from the Vasorum Lymphaticorum Corporis Humani Historia et Ichnographia (1787).

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Correspondence to Stefano Sandrone.

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S.S. receives royalties from Oxford University Press (United States) for Brain Renaissance (2015). J.K. is a scientific co-founder and a scientific board member of Ariya Therapeutics, Inc. (PureTech Health).

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Sandrone, S., Moreno-Zambrano, D., Kipnis, J. et al. A (delayed) history of the brain lymphatic system. Nat Med 25, 538–540 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0417-3

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