Difference between veins and lymphatic vessels?
Comparison between Lymph Vessels and Veins.Similarities.both have an interconnecting network of progressively larger vessels;both transport fluids to the heart;the larger lymph vessels have the same structure as veins, i.e. their walls have the same three layers;both have semi-lunar valves to prevent any backward flow of blood;the flow of fluid is slow but steady and at low pressure;the fluid is deoxygenated;like blood capillaries, the walls of lymph capillaries are composed of a single thin layer of squamous endothelium.Differences.the walls of lymph vessels are musch thinner and more transparent;the muscle layer in lymph vessel is much less developed, but there is more connective tissue;blood capillaries form a continuous, open circuit, whereas lymph capillaries end blindly in the tissues;lymph capillaries have a larger diameter than blood capillaries;lymph capillaries have walls which are more permeable than the walls of blood capillaries. Consequently, larger molecules (such as proteins) are able to diffuse through them.