You will rarely see a section of a complete lymph node. Use this one to recognise the first important fact about its structure : cortex and medulla.

Even at this low magnification you can make out the capsule, cortex and the lighter medulla. The lymphatic nodules (also known as follicles) are not very obvious, but you can see one large pale area with a dark ring around it well to the left of the 'C'.

In the medulla the dark, crisscrossing bands are medullary cords. The medullary sinuses are in the lighter areas.

In this section the hilum is seen well on the left side as an indentation. There is a vessel in the hilum, but in this picture we cannot say for sure what it is!

A lymphatic nodule in the cortex. Note the outer dark zone and the germinal centre.

The arrow points to the capsule with a small part of the subcapsular sinus under it.

Capsule, subcapsular sinus (clear space) and a part of the cortex.

Deeper inside a lymph node. The dark masses are medullary cords. Since they interlace in three dimensions, their appearance can vary. The medullary sinuses are the lighter areas. A small blood vessels and a smaller capillary are also seen.