Historically, research into the lymphatic system has been overlooked due to both a lack of knowledge and limited recognition of its importance. In the last decade however, lymphatic research has gained substantial momentum and has included the development of a variety of computational models to aid understanding of this complex system. This article reviews existing computational fluid dynamic models of the lymphatics covering each structural component including the initial lymphatics, pre-collecting and collecting vessels, and lymph nodes. This is followed by a summary of limitations and gaps in existing computational models and reasons that development in this field has been hindered to date. Over the next decade, efforts to further characterize lymphatic anatomy and physiology are anticipated to provide key data to further inform and validate lymphatic fluid dynamic models. Development of more comprehensive multiscale- and multi-physics computational models has the potential to significantly enhance the understanding of lymphatic function in both health and disease.

从历史上看，由于缺乏知识和对其重要性认识有限，对淋巴系统的研究一直被忽视。然而，在过去的十年中，淋巴研究取得了巨大的发展势头，并包括开发各种计算模型以帮助理解这个复杂的系统。本文回顾了现有的淋巴管计算流体动力学模型，涵盖了每个结构组成部分，包括初始淋巴管、预收集和收集血管以及淋巴结。接下来总结了现有计算模型的局限性和差距以及迄今为止阻碍该领域发展的原因。在接下来的十年中，进一步表征淋巴解剖学和生理学的努力预计将提供关键数据，以进一步告知和验证淋巴液动力学模型。开发更全面的多尺度和多物理计算模型有可能显着增强对健康和疾病中淋巴功能的理解。