Diabetic lymphangiopathy. An optical and electron microscopic study.

The lymphatic capillaries in the tegument of the dorsal side of the leg in patients with diabetes mellitus, and especially in those with clinically manifested macroangiopathy, present morphopathological modifications at the level of the endothelium and the basal membrane. Ultrastructurally, the modifications appear as dilatations of the intercellular space, dislocation or desquamation of the endothelium, an exaggerated growth of the micropinocytic vesicles, the appearance of the intracellular vacuoles and of the lysosomes. These modifications point to an increase in the endothelium permeability, which is an important phenomenon in the diabetic microangiopathy.