document_title: Fluid and crystallized intelligence

question_text: who came up with the theory of crystallized vs fluid intelligence

root

text: Fluid and crystallized intelligence

text: History[edit]

text: Fluid and crystallized intelligence were originally identified by Raymond Cattell.[3] Concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligence were further developed by Cattell's student, John L. Horn. Since Cattell's and Horn's publications, the concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligence have become so ingrained in the field of intelligence that they are no longer routinely attributed to Cattell or Horn—much as Cattell's scree plot became ingrained in the practice of factor analysis or Freud's concept of the subconscious is ingrained in psychology and in the public's perceptions of the mind.

tag: p

text: Theoretical development[edit]

text: Fluid and crystallized intelligence are discrete factors of general intelligence, or g.[4] Although formally recognized by Cattell, the distinction was foreshadowed by Charles Spearman who originally developed the theory of g and made a similar observation regarding the difference between eductive and reproductive mental ability.[5]

text: According to Cattell, "...it is apparent that one of these powers… has the 'fluid' quality of being directable to almost any problem. By contrast, the other is invested in particular areas of crystallized skills which can be upset individually without affecting the others."[4] Thus, his claim was that each type, or factor, was independent of the other, though many authors have noted an apparent interdependence of the two.[6]

text: Fluid versus crystallized[edit]

text: Fluid intelligence includes such abilities as pattern recognition, abstract reasoning, and problem-solving. Evidence is consistent with the view that Gf is more affected by brain injury.[7][8]

text: Impaired performance on some tasks measuring fluid intelligence and enhanced performance on others are found on some measures in individuals with autism spectrum disorders including Asperger syndrome.[9][10][11]

text: Crystallized intelligence is possibly more amenable to change as it relies on specific, acquired knowledge. When learning new facts, someone's fund of knowledge is expanded. Vocabulary tests and the verbal subscale of the WAIS are considered good measures of Gc. Crystallized intelligence relates to the study of aging. Belsky claims this declines with age. In life, knowledge that is not used can be forgotten. Belsky believes that there is at least one age of maximum crystallized intelligence; after which forgetting exceeds the rate at which knowledge is acquired.[12]

text: Not surprisingly, people with a high capacity of Gf tend to acquire more Gc knowledge and at faster rates. The process of acquiring factual knowledge is sometimes called "cognitive investment."[13]

text: Some researchers have linked the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence to Piaget's conception of operative intelligence and learning.[14][15] Fluid ability and Piaget's operative intelligence both concern logical thinking and the eduction of relations. Crystallized ability and Piaget's treatment of everyday learning reflect the impress of experience. Like fluid ability's relation to crystallized intelligence, Piaget's operativity is considered to be prior to, and ultimately provides the foundation for, everyday learning.

text: Factor structure[edit]

text: Fluid intelligence generally correlates with measures of abstract reasoning and puzzle solving. Crystallized intelligence correlates with abilities that depend on knowledge and experience, such as vocabulary, general information, and analogies. Paul Kline identified a number of factors that shared a correlation of at least r=.60 with Gf and Gc.[16] Factors with median loadings[clarify] of greater than 0.6 on Gf included induction, visualization, quantitative reasoning, and ideational fluency. Factors with median loadings of greater than 0.6 on Gc included verbal ability, language development, reading comprehension, sequential reasoning, and general information. It may be suggested that tests of intelligence may not be able to truly reflect levels of fluid intelligence. Some authors have suggested that unless an individual was truly interested in the problem presented, the cognitive work required may not be performed because of a lack of interest.[17] These authors contend that a low score on tests which are intended to measure fluid intelligence may reflect more a lack of interest in the tasks rather than inability to complete the tasks successfully.

text: Measurement of fluid intelligence[edit]

text: There are various measures that assess fluid intelligence. The Cattell Culture Fair IQ test, the Raven Progressive Matrices (RPM), and the performance subscale of the WAIS are measures of Gf. The RPM[18] is one of the most commonly used measures of fluid abilities. It is a non-verbal multiple choice test. Participants have to complete a series of drawings by identifying relevant features based on the spatial organization of an array of objects, and choosing one object that matches one or more of the identified features.[19] This task assesses the ability to consider one or more relationships between mental representations or relational reasoning. Propositional analogies and semantic decision tasks are also used to assess relational reasoning.[20][21]

text: Standardized IQ tests such as those used in psychoeducational assessment also include tests of fluid intelligence. In the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities,[22] Gf is assessed by two tests: Concept Formation (Test 5) in the Standard Battery and Analysis Synthesis (Test 15) in the Extended Battery. On Concept Formation tasks, the individual has to apply concepts by inferring the underlying "rules" for solving visual puzzles that are presented in increasing levels of difficulty. Individuals at the preschool level have to point to a shape that is different from others in a set. As the level of difficulty increases, individuals increasingly demonstrate an understanding of what constitutes a key difference (or the "rule") for solving puzzles involving one to one comparisons, and on later items identifying common differences among a set of items. For more difficult items, individuals need to understand the concept of "and" (e.g. solution must have some of this and some of that) and the concept of "or" (e.g. to be inside a box, the item must be either this or that). The most difficult items require fluid transformations and cognitive shifting between the various types of concept puzzles that the examinee has worked with previously.[23]

text: Concept Formation tasks assess inductive reasoning ability. In the Analysis-Synthesis test, the individual has to learn and orally state the solutions to incomplete logic puzzles that mimic a miniature mathematics system. The test also contains some of the features involved in using symbolic formulations in other fields such as chemistry and logic. The individual is presented with a set of logic rules, a "key" that is used to solve the puzzles. The individual has to determine the missing colors within each of the puzzles using the key. Complex items present puzzles that require two or more sequential mental manipulations of the key to derive a final solution. Increasingly difficult items involve a mix of puzzles that require fluid shifts in deduction, logic, and inference.[23] Analysis Synthesis tasks assess general sequential reasoning.

text: In the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC IV),[24] the Perceptual Reasoning Index contains two subtests that assess Gf: Matrix Reasoning, which involves induction and deducation, and Picture Concepts, which involves induction.[25] In the Picture Concepts task, children are presented a series of pictures on two or three rows and asked which pictures (one from each row) belong together based on some common characteristic. This task assesses the child's ability to discover the underlying characteristic (e.g. rule, concept, trend, class membership) that governs a set of materials. Matrix Reasoning also tests this ability as well as the ability to start with stated rules, premises, or conditions and to engage in one or more steps to reach a solution to a novel problem (deducation). In the Matrix Reasoning test, children are presented a series or sequence of pictures with one picture missing. Their task is to choose the picture that fits the series or sequence from an array of five options. Since Matrix Reasoning and Picture Concepts involve the use of visual stimuli and do not require expressive language, they are considered to be non-verbal tests of Gf.[25]

text: Within the corporate environment, fluid intelligence is a predictor of a person's capacity to work well in environments characterised by complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity. The Cognitive Process Profile (CPP) measures a person's fluid intelligence and cognitive processes. It maps these against suitable work environments according to Elliott Jacques Stratified Systems Theory.

text: Development and physiology[edit]

text: Fluid intelligence, like reaction time, typically peaks in young adulthood and then steadily declines. This decline may be related to local atrophy of the brain in the right cerebellum.[26] Other researchers have suggested that a lack of practice, along with age-related changes in the brain may contribute to the decline.[6] Crystallized intelligence typically increases gradually, stays relatively stable across most of adulthood, and then begins to decline after age 65.[6] The exact peak age of cognitive skills remains elusive, it depends on the skill measurement as well as on the survey design. Cross-sectional data shows typically an earlier onset of cognitive decline in comparison with longitudinal data. The former may be confounded due to cohort effects while the latter may be biased due to prior test experiences.[27]

text: Working memory capacity is closely related to fluid intelligence, and has been proposed to account for individual differences in Gf.[28]

text: Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory[edit]

text: According to David Geary, Gf and Gc can be traced to two separate brain systems. Fluid intelligence involves both the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, and other systems related to attention and short-term memory. Crystallized intelligence appears to be a function of brain regions that involve the storage and usage of long-term memories, such as the hippocampus.[29]

text: Some researchers question whether the results of training are long lasting and transferable, especially when these techniques are used by healthy children and adults without cognitive deficiencies.[30] A recent meta-analytical review conducted by researchers from the University of Oslo concluded that "memory training programs appear to produce short-term, specific training effects that do not generalize."[31]

text: In a controversial study, Susanne M. Jaeggi and her colleagues at the University of Michigan found that healthy young adults who practiced a demanding working memory task (dual n-back) approximately 25 minutes per day for between 8 and 19 days had statistically significant increases in their scores on a matrix test of fluid intelligence taken before and after the training than a control group who did not do any training at all.[32]

text: A second study conducted at the University of Technology in Hangzhou, China, supports Jaeggi's results independently. After student subjects were given a 10-day training regimen based on the dual n-back working memory theory, the students were tested on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. Their scores were found to have increased significantly.[33]

text: Subsequent studies on n-back, namely by Chooi & Thompson[34] and Redick et al.,[35] do not support the findings of the Jaeggi study. Although participants' performance on the training task improved, these studies showed no significant improvement in the mental abilities tested, especially fluid intelligence and working memory capacity.


document_title: Roman technology

question_text: what technology did the romans bring to britain

text: Roman technology

text: The energy constraint[edit]

text: All technology uses energy to transform the material into a desirable object or uses some form of mechanics combined with another form to make something better. The cheaper energy is, the wider the class of technologies that are considered economic. This is why technological history can be seen as a succession of ages defined by energy type i.e. human, animal, water, peat, coal, and oil.[4] The Romans used water power, and watermills were common throughout the Empire, especially to the end of the 1st century AD. They were used for cereals milling, sawing timber and crushing ore. They exploited wood and coal for heating. There were huge reserves of wood, peat and coal in the Roman Empire, but they were all in the wrong place. Wood could be floated down rivers to the major urban centres but otherwise it was a very poor fuel, being heavy for its caloric value. If this was improved by being processed into charcoal, it was bulky. Nor was wood ever available in any concentration. Diocletian's Price Edict can give us a glimpse of the economics of transporting wood. The maximum price of a wagon load of 1,200 lbs of wood was 150 d.(denari). The maximum freight charge per mile for the same wagon load was 20 d. per mile. Room heating was normally better done by charcoal braziers than hypocausts. But hypocausts did allow them to exploit any poor-quality smoky fuels like straw, vine prunings and small wood locally available. Hypocausts also allowed them to generate a humid heat for their baths.

text: The Romans worked almost all the coalfields of England that outcropped on the surface, by the end of the 2nd century (Smith 1997; 323). But there is no evidence that this exploitation was on any scale. After c. 200 AD the commercial heart of the Empire was in Africa and the East where the climate severely limited timber growth. There was no large coalfield on the edge of the Mediterranean.

text: Nevertheless, in Roman Egypt all the essential components of the much later steam engine were first assembled by the Greek Mathematician and Engineer Hero:

text: With the crank and connecting rod system, all elements for constructing a steam engine (invented in 1712) — Hero's aeolipile (generating steam power), the cylinder and piston (in metal force pumps), non-return valves (in water pumps), gearing (in water mills and clocks) — were known in Roman times.[5]

text: However, the aeolipile was a reaction engine, inefficient as a stationary engine. The first useful steam engine did not use steam pressure at all, but followed up a scientific advance in understanding air pressure.

text: Craft basis[edit]

text: Roman technology was largely based on a system of crafts, although the term engineering is used today to describe the technical feats of the Romans. The Greek words used were mechanic or machine-maker or even mathematician which had a much wider meaning than now. There were a large number of engineers employed by the army. The most famous engineer of this period was the Greek Apollodorus of Damascus. Normally each trade, each group of artisans—stonemasons, glass blowers, surveyors, etc.—within a project had its own practice of masters and apprentices, and many tried to keep their trade secrets, passing them on solely by word of mouth, a system still in use today by those who do not want to patent their inventions. Writers such as Vitruvius, Pliny the Elder and Frontinus published widely on many different technologies, and there was a corpus of manuals on basic mathematics and science such as the many books by Archimedes, Ctesibius, Heron (a.k.a. Hero of Alexandria), Euclid and so on. Not all of the manuals which were available to the Romans have survived, as lost works illustrate.

text: Much of what is known of Roman technology comes indirectly from archaeology and from the third-hand accounts of Latin texts copied from Arabic texts, which were in turn copied from the Greek texts of scholars such as Hero of Alexandria or contemporary travellers who had observed Roman technologies in action. Writers like Pliny the Elder and Strabo had enough intellectual curiosity to make note of the inventions they saw during their travels, although their typically brief descriptions often arouse discussion as to their precise meaning. On the other hand, Pliny is perfectly clear when describing gold mining, his text in book XXXIII having been confirmed by archaeology and field-work at such sites as Las Medulas and Dolaucothi.

text: Engineering and construction[edit]

text: The Romans made extensive use of aqueducts, dams, bridges, and amphitheatres. They were also responsible for many innovations to roads, sanitation, and construction in general. Roman architecture in general was greatly influenced by the Greeks and Etruscans. Many of the columns and arches seen in Roman architecture were adopted from the Greek and Etruscan civilizations present in Italy.

text: In the Roman Empire, cements made from pozzolanic ash/pozzolana and an aggregate made from pumice were used to make a concrete very similar to modern Portland cement concrete. In 20s BC the architect Vitruvius described a low-water-content method for mixing concrete. The Romans found out that insulated glazing (or "double glazing") improved greatly on keeping buildings warm, and this technique was used in the construction of public baths.

text: Another truly original process which was born in the empire was the practice of glassblowing, which started in Syria and spread in about one generation in the empire.

text: There were many types of presses to press olives. In the 1st century AD, Pliny the Elder reported the invention and subsequent general use of the new and more compact screw presses. However, the screw press was almost certainly not a Roman invention. It was first described by the Greek mathematician and engineer, Hero of Alexandria, but may have already been in use when he mentioned it in his Mechanica III.

text: Cranes were used for construction work and possibly to load and unload ships at their ports, although for the latter use there is according to the “present state of knowledge” still no evidence.[6] Most cranes were capable of lifting about 6–7 tons of cargo, and according to a relief shown on Trajan's column were worked by treadwheel.

text: Roads[edit]

text: The Romans primarily built roads for their military. Their economic importance was probably also significant, although wagon traffic was often banned from the roads to preserve their military value. At its largest extent the total length of the Roman road network was 85,000 kilometres (53,000 mi).

text: Way stations providing refreshments were maintained by the government at regular intervals along the roads. A separate system of changing stations for official and private couriers was also maintained. This allowed a dispatch to travel a maximum of 800 kilometres (500 mi) in 24 hours by using a relay of horses.

text: The roads were constructed by digging a pit along the length of the intended course, often to bedrock. The pit was first filled with rocks, gravel or sand and then a layer of concrete. Finally they were paved with polygonal rock slabs. Roman roads are considered the most advanced roads built until the early 19th century. Bridges were constructed over waterways. The roads were resistant to floods and other environmental hazards. After the fall of the Roman Empire the roads were still usable and used for more than 1000 years.

text: Most Roman cities were shaped like a square. There were 4 main roads leading to the center of the city, or forum. They formed a cross shape, and each point on the edge of the cross was a gateway into the city. Connecting to these main roads were smaller roads, the streets where people lived.

text: Aqueducts[edit]

text: The Romans constructed numerous aqueducts to supply water. The city of Rome itself was supplied by eleven aqueducts made of limestone that provided the city with over 1 million cubic metres of water each day, sufficient for 3.5 million people even in modern-day times,[7] and with a combined length of 350 kilometres (220 mi).[8]

text: Water inside the aqueducts depended entirely on gravity. The raised stone channels in which the water travelled were slightly slanted. The water was carried directly from mountain springs. After it had gone through the aqueduct, the water was collected in tanks and fed through pipes to fountains, toilets, etc.[9]

text: The main aqueducts in Ancient Rome were the Aqua Claudia and the Aqua Marcia.[10] Most aqueducts were constructed below the surface with only small portions above ground supported by arches.[11] The longest Roman aqueduct, 178 kilometres (111 mi) in length, was traditionally assumed to be that which supplied the city of Carthage. The complex system built to supply Constantinople had its most distant supply drawn from over 120 km away along a sinuous route of more than 336 km.[12]

text: Roman aqueducts were built to remarkably fine tolerances, and to a technological standard that was not to be equalled until modern times. Powered entirely by gravity, they transported very large amounts of water very efficiently. Sometimes, where depressions deeper than 50 metres had to be crossed, inverted siphons were used to force water uphill.[11] An aqueduct also supplied water for the overshot wheels at Barbegal in Roman Gaul, a complex of water mills hailed as "the greatest known concentration of mechanical power in the ancient world".[1]

text: Bridges[edit]

text: Roman bridges were among the first large and lasting bridges built. They were built with stone and/or concrete and utilized the arch. Built in 142 BC, the Pons Aemilius, later named Ponte Rotto (broken bridge) is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome, Italy. The biggest Roman bridge was Trajan's bridge over the lower Danube, constructed by Apollodorus of Damascus, which remained for over a millennium the longest bridge to have been built both in terms of overall and span length. They were most of the time at least 60 feet (18 m) above the body of water.

text: An example of temporary military bridge construction is the two Caesar's Rhine bridges.

text: Dams[edit]

text: They also built many dams for water collection, such as the Subiaco Dams, two of which fed Anio Novus, one of the largest aqueducts of Rome. They built 72 dams in just one country, Spain and many more are known across the Empire, some of which are still in use. At one site, Montefurado in Galicia, they appear to have built a dam across the river Sil to expose alluvial gold deposits in the bed of the river. The site is near the spectacular Roman gold mine of Las Medulas. Several earthen dams are known from Britain, including a well-preserved example from Roman Lanchester, Longovicium, where it may have been used in industrial-scale smithing or smelting, judging by the piles of slag found at this site in northern England. Tanks for holding water are also common along aqueduct systems, and numerous examples are known from just one site, the gold mines at Dolaucothi in west Wales. Masonry dams were common in North Africa for providing a reliable water supply from the wadis behind many settlements.

text: Mining[edit]

text: The Romans also made great use of aqueducts in their extensive mining operations across the empire, some sites such as Las Medulas in north-west Spain having at least 7 major channels entering the minehead. Other sites such as Dolaucothi in south Wales was fed by at least 5 leats, all leading to reservoirs and tanks or cisterns high above the present opencast. The water was used for hydraulic mining, where streams or waves of water are released onto the hillside, first to reveal any gold-bearing ore, and then to work the ore itself. Rock debris could be sluiced away by hushing, and the water also used to douse fires created to break down the hard rock and veins, a method known as fire-setting.

text: Alluvial gold deposits could be worked and the gold extracted without needing to crush the ore. Washing tables were fitted below the tanks to collect the gold-dust and any nuggets present. Vein gold needed crushing, and they probably used crushing or stamp mills worked by water-wheels to comminute the hard ore before washing. Large quantities of water were also needed in deep mining to remove waste debris and power primitive machines, as well as for washing the crushed ore. Pliny the Elder provides a detailed description of gold mining in book xxxiii of his Naturalis Historia, most of which has been confirmed by archaeology. That they used water mills on a large scale elsewhere is attested by the flour mills at Barbegal in southern France, and on the Janiculum in Rome.

text: Sanitation[edit]

text: The Romans did not invent plumbing or toilets, but instead borrowed their waste disposal system from their neighbors, particularly the Minoans.[13] A waste disposal system was not a new invention, but rather had been around since 3100 BCE, when one was created in the Indus River Valley [14] The Roman public baths, or thermae served hygienic, social and cultural functions. The baths contained three main facilities for bathing. After undressing in the apodyterium or changing room, Romans would proceed to the tepidarium or warm room. In the moderate dry heat of the tepidarium, some performed warm-up exercises and stretched while others oiled themselves or had slaves oil them. The tepidarium’s main purpose was to promote sweating to prepare for the next room, the caldarium or hot room. The caldarium, unlike the tepidarium, was extremely humid and hot. Temperatures in the caldarium could reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Many contained steam baths and a cold-water fountain known as the labrum. The last room was the frigidarium or cold room, which offered a cold bath for cooling off after the caldarium. The Romans also had flush toilets.

text: Roman military technology[edit]

text: The Roman military technology ranged from personal equipment and armament to deadly siege engines. They inherited almost all ancient weapons.

text: While heavy, intricate armour was not uncommon (cataphracts), the Romans perfected a relatively light, full torso armour made of segmented plates (lorica segmentata). This segmented armour provided good protection for vital areas, but did not cover as much of the body as lorica hamata or chainmail. The lorica segmentata provided better protection, but the plate bands were expensive and difficult to produce and difficult to repair in the field. Overall, chainmail was cheaper, easier to produce, and simpler to maintain, was one-size fits all, and was more comfortable to wear – thus, it remained the primary form of armour even when lorica segmentata was in use.

text: The Roman cavalry saddle had four horns [1] and was believed to have been copied from Celtic peoples.

text: Roman siege engines such as ballistas, scorpions and onagers were not unique. But the Romans were probably the first people to put ballistas on carts for better mobility on campaigns. On the battlefield, it is thought that they were used to pick off enemy leaders. There is one account of the use of artillery in battle from Tacitus, Histories III,23:

text: In addition to innovations in land warfare, the Romans also developed the Corvus (boarding device) a movable bridge that could attach itself to an enemy ship and allow the Romans to board the enemy vessel. Developed during the First Punic War it allowed them to apply their experience in land warfare on the seas.[15]

text: Other innovations[edit]

text: Rome was responsible for the innovation of other vital technology in addition to cataphracts, siege engines, and the Corvus.

text: Military Surgery: Although various levels of medicine were practiced in the ancient world,[16] the Romans created or pioneered many innovative surgeries and tools that are still in use today such as hemostatic tourniquets and arterial surgical clamps.[17] Rome was also responsible for producing the first battlefield surgery unit, a move that paired with their contributions to medicine made the Roman army a force to be reckoned with.[17] They also used a rudimentary version of antiseptic surgery years before its use became popular in the 19th century and possessed very capable doctors.[17]

tag: ul

text:
Ballista and Onagers (continued): While core artillery inventions were notably founded by the Greeks, Rome saw opportunity in the ability to enhance this long range artillery. Large artillery pieces such as Carroballista and Onagers bombarded enemy lines, before full ground assault by infantry. The manuballista would "often be described as the most advanced two-armed torsion engine used by the Roman Army”.[19] The weapon often looks like a mounted crossbow capable of shooting projectiles. Similarly, the onager “named after the wild ass, because of its ‘kick’" was a larger weapon that was capable of hurling large projectiles at walls or forts.[19] Both were very capable machines of war and were put to use by the Roman military.
Greek Fire: Originally an incendiary weapon perfected from the Greeks in 7th century AD, the Greek fire “is one of the very few contrivances whose gruesome effectiveness was noted by”[19] many sources. Roman innovators made this already lethal weapon even more deadly. Its nature is often described as a “precursor to napalm".[19] Military strategists often put the weapon to good use during naval battles, and the ingredients to its construction “remained a closely guarded military secret”.[19] Despite this, the devastation caused by Greek fire in combat is indisputable.

text: Testudo: This strategic military maneuver is originally Roman. The tactic was implemented by having units raise their shields in order to protect themselves from enemy projectiles raining down on them. The strategy only worked if each member of the tested protected his comrade. Commonly used during siege battles, the “sheer discipline and synchronization required to form a Testudo” was a testament to the abilities of legionnaires.[19] Testudo, meaning tortoise in Latin, “was not the norm, but rather adopted in specific situations to deal with particular threats on the battlefield”.[19] The Greek phalanx and other Roman formations were a source of inspiration for this maneouver.

text:
Pontoon Bridge: Mobility, for a military force, was an essential key to success. Although this was not a Roman invention, as there were instances of "ancient Chinese and Persians making use of the floating mechanism”,[19] Roman generals used the innovation to great effect in campaigns. Furthermore, engineers perfected the speed at which these bridges were constructed. Leaders surprised enemy units to great effect by speedily crossing otherwise treacherous bodies of water. Lightweight crafts were “organized and tied together with the aid of planks, nails and cables”.[19] Rafts were more commonly used instead of building new makeshift bridges, enabling quick construction and deconstruction.[22] The expedient and valuable innovation of the pontoon bridge also accredited its success to the excellent abilities of Roman Engineers.
Pilum (spear): The Roman heavy spear was a weapon favored by legionaries and weighed approximated five pounds.[23] The innovated javelin was designed to be used only once and was destroyed upon initial use. This ability prevented the enemy from reusing spears. All soldiers carried two versions of this weapon (a primary spear and a backup). A solid block of wood in the middle of the weapon enabled legionaries protection for their hands while carrying the device. According to Polybius, historians have records of "how the Romans threw their spears and then charged with swords".[24] This tactic seemed to be common practice among Roman infantry.

text: In summary, Rome contributed numerous advances in technology to the Ancient World. However, it is also viewed that "the ancient world under the domination of Rome [in fact] reached a kind of climax in the technological field [as] many technologies had advanced as far as possible with the equipment then available".[25] This concept of perfecting the unperfected was a theme that governed Roman technological supremacy throughout its 1,470 year reign. Ideas that had already been invented or designed: like the pontoon bridge, aqueduct, and military surgery, were constructed or utilized to perfection by Roman innovators. It's the innovation of technology that contributed to Rome's military success.

text: Technologies developed or invented by the Romans[edit]

text:
Technology
Comment

Abacus, Roman
Portable.

Alum
The production of alum (KAl(SO4)2.12H2O) from alunite (KAl3(SO4)2.(OH)6) is archaeologically attested on the island Lesbos.[26] This site was abandoned in the 7th century but dates back at least to the 2nd century AD.

Amphitheatre
See e.g. Colosseum.

Aqueduct, true arch
Pont du Gard, Segovia etc.

Arch, monumental

Bath, monumental public (Thermae)
See e.g. Baths of Diocletian

Book (Codex)
First mentioned by Martial in the 1st century AD. Held many advantages over the scroll.

Brass
The Romans had enough understanding of zinc to produce a brass denomination coinage; see sestertius.

Bridge, true arch
See e.g. Roman bridge in Chaves or the Severan Bridge.

Bridge, segmental arch
More than a dozen Roman bridges are known to feature segmental (=flat) arches. A prominent example was Trajan's bridge over the Danube, a lesser known the extant Limyra Bridge in Lycia

Bridge, pointed arch
Constructed in the early Byzantine era, the earliest known bridge featuring a pointed arch is the 5th or 6th century AD Karamagara Bridge[27]

Camel harness
The harnessing of camels to ploughs is attested in North Africa by the 3rd century AD[28]

Cameos
Probably a Hellenistic innovation e.g. Cup of the Ptolemies but taken up by the Emperors e.g. Gemma Augustea, Gemma Claudia etc.

Cast Iron
Recently archaeologically detected in the Val Gabbia in northern Lombardy from the 5th and 6th centuries AD.[29] This technically interesting innovation appears to have had little economic impact. But archaeologists may have failed to recognize the distinctive slag, so the date and location of this innovation may be revised.

Cement
Concrete

Pozzolana variety

Crank handle
A Roman iron crank handle was excavated in Augusta Raurica, Switzerland. The 82.5 cm long piece with a 15 cm long handle is of yet unknown purpose and dates to no later than c. 250 AD.[3]

Crank and connecting rod
Found in several water-powered saw mills dating from the late 3rd (Hierapolis sawmill) to 6th century AD (at Ephesus respectively Gerasa).[2]

Crane, treadwheel

Dam, Arch[30]
Currently best attested for the dam at Glanum, France dated c. 20 BC.[31] The structure has entirely disappeared. Its existence attested from the cuts into the rock on either side to key in the dam wall, which was 14.7 metres high, 3.9m thick at base narrowing to 2.96m at the top. Earliest description of arch action in such types of dam by Procopius around 560 AD, the Dara Dam[32]

Dam, Arch-gravity
Examples include curved dams at Orükaya,[33] Çavdarhisar, both Turkey (and 2nd century)[33]Kasserine Dam in Tunisia,[34] and Puy Foradado Dam in Spain (2nd–3rd century)[35]

Dam, Bridge
The Band-i-Kaisar, constructed by Roman prisoners of war in Shustar, Persia, in the 3rd century AD,[36] featured a weir combined with an arch bridge, a multifunctional hydraulic structure which subsequently spread throughout Iran.[37]

Dam, Buttress
Attested in a number of Roman dams in Spain,[35] like the 600 m long Consuegra Dam

Dam, Multiple Arch Buttress
Esparragalejo Dam, Spain (1st century AD) earliest known[38]

Dome, monumental
See e.g. Pantheon.

Foot-powered loom
Before 298 AD, with a hint the invention arose at Tarsus[39]

Flos Salis
A product of salt evaporation ponds Dunaliella salina[40] used in the perfume industry (Pliny Nat. Hist. 31,90)

Force pump used in fire engine
See image of pointable nozzle

Glass blowing
This led to a number of innovations in the use of glass. Window glass is attested at Pompeii in AD 79. In the 2nd century AD[41] hanging glass oil lamps were introduced. These used floating wicks and by reducing self-shading gave more lumens in a downwards direction. Cage cups (see photograph) are hypothesised as oil lamps.

Dichroic glass as in the Lycurgus Cup. [2] Note, this material attests otherwise unknown chemistry (or other way?) to generate nano-scale gold-silver particles.

Glass mirrors (Pliny the Elder Naturalis Historia 33,130)

Greenhouse cold frames
(Pliny the Elder Naturalis Historia 19.64; Columella on Ag. 11.3.52)

Hydraulis
A water organ. Later also the pneumatic organ.

Hushing
Described by Pliny the Elder and confirmed at Dolaucothi and Las Médulas

Hydraulic mining
Described by Pliny the Elder and confirmed at Dolaucothi and Las Médulas

Hydrometer
Mentioned in a letter of Synesius

Hypocaust
A floor and also wall heating system. Described by Vitruvius

Knife, multifunctional
[3]

Lighthouses
The best surviving examples are those at Dover castle and the Tower of Hercules at La Coruna

Leather, Tanned
The preservation of skins with vegetable tannins was a pre-Roman invention but not of the antiquity once supposed. (Tawing was far more ancient.) The Romans were responsible for spreading this technology into areas where it was previously unknown such as Britain and Qasr Ibrim on the Nile. In both places this technology was lost when the Romans withdrew.[42]

Mills
M.J.T.Lewis presents good evidence that water powered vertical pounding machines came in by the middle of the 1st century AD for fulling, grain hulling (Pliny Nat. Hist. 18,97) and ore crushing (archaeological evidence at Dolaucothi Gold Mines and Spain).

Grainmill, rotary. According to Moritz (p57) rotary grainmills were not known to the ancient Greeks but date from before 160 BC. Unlike reciprocating mills, rotary mills could be easily adapted to animal or water power. Lewis (1997) argues that the rotary grainmill dates to the 5th century BC in the western Mediterranean. Animal and water powered rotary mills came in the 3rd century BC.

Sawmill, water powered. Recorded by 370 AD. Attested in Ausonius's poem Mosella. Translated [4]"the Ruwer sends mill-stones swiftly round to grind the corn, And drives shrill saw-blades through smooth marble blocks". Recent archaeological evidence from Phrygia, Anatolia, now pushes back the date to the 3rd century AD and confirms the use of a crank in the sawmill.[43]

Shipmill, (Though small, the conventional term is "shipmill" not boat mill, probably because there was always a deck, and usually an enclosed superstructure, to keep the flour away from the damp.) where water wheels were attached to boats, was first recorded at Rome in 547 AD in Procopius of Caesarea's Gothic Wars (1.19.8–29) when Belisaurius was besieged there.

Essentials of the Steam engine
By the late 3rd century AD, all essential elements for constructing a steam engine were known by Roman engineers: steam power (in Hero's aeolipile), the crank and connecting rod mechanism (in the Hierapolis sawmill), the cylinder and piston (in metal force pumps), non-return valves (in water pumps) and gearing (in water mills and clocks)[5]

Watermill. Improvements upon earlier models. For the largest mill complex known see Barbegal

Mercury Gilding
as in the Horses of San Marco

Newspaper, rudimentary
See Acta Diurna.

Odometer

Paddle wheel boats
In de Rebus Bellicis (possibly only a paper invention).

Pewter
Mentioned by Pliny the Elder (Naturalis Historia 34, 160–1). Surviving examples are mainly Romano-British of the 3rd and 4th centuries e.g.[5] and [6]. Roman pewter had a wide range of proportions of tin but proportions of 50%, 75% and 95% predominate (Beagrie 1989).

Pleasure lake
An artificial reservoir, highly unusual in that it was meant for recreational rather than utilitarian purposes was created at Subiaco, Italy, for emperor Nero (54–68 AD). The dam remained the highest in the Roman Empire (50 m),[44] and in the world until its destruction in 1305.[45]

Plough

iron-bladed (A much older innovation (e.g. Bible; I Samuel 13, 20–1) that became much more common in the Roman period)

wheeled (Pliny the Elder Naturalis Historia 18. 171–3) (More important for the Middle Ages, than this era.)

Pottery, glossed
i.e. Samian ware

Reaper
An early harvesting machine: vallus (Pliny the Elder Naturalis Historia 18,296, Palladius 7.2.2–4 [7])

Sails, fore-and-aft rig
Introduction of fore-and-aft rigs 1) the Lateen sail 2) the Spritsail, this last already attested in 2nd century BC in the northern Aegean Sea[46] Note: there is no evidence of any combination of fore-and-aft rigs with square sails on the same Roman ship.

Sails, Lateen
Representations show lateen sails in the Mediterranean as early as the 2nd century AD. Both the quadrilateral and the triangular type were employed.[47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]

Roller Bearings
Archaeologically attested in the Lake Nemi ships[57]

Rudder, stern-mounted
See image for something very close to being a sternpost rudder

Sausage, fermented dry (probably)
See salami.

Screw press
An innovation of about the mid-1st century AD[58]

Sewers
See for example Cloaca Maxima

Soap, hard (sodium)
First mentioned by Galen (earlier, potassium, soap being Celtic).

Spiral staircase
Though first attested as early as the 5th century BC in Greek Selinunte, spiral staircases only become more widespread after their adoption in Trajan's column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Stenography, a system of
See Tironian notes.

Street map, early
See Forma Urbis Romae (Severan Marble Plan), a carved marble ground plan of every architectural feature in ancient Rome.[59]

Sundial, portable
See Theodosius of Bithynia

Surgical instruments, various

Tooth implants, iron
See [8]

Towpath
e.g. beside the Danube, see the "road" in Trajan's bridge

Tunnels
Excavated from both ends simultaneously. The longest known is the 5.6-kilometre (3.5 mi) drain of the Fucine lake

Vehicles, one wheeled
Solely attested by a Latin word in 4th century AD Scriptores Historiae Augustae Heliogabalus 29. As this is fiction, the evidence dates to its time of writing.

Wood veneer
Pliny Nat. Hist. 16. 231–2

tag: table


document_title: The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

question_text: where did june osborne work handmaid's tale

question_tokens: where did june osborne work handmaid 's tale

text: The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In the near future, fertility rates collapse as a result of sexually transmitted diseases and environmental pollution.[4] With this chaos, the totalitarian, theonomic government of "Gilead" establishes rule in the former United States in the aftermath of a civil war.[5][6][7] Society is organized by power-hungry leaders along with a new, militarized, hierarchical regime of fanaticism and newly created social classes, in which women are brutally subjugated, and by law are not allowed to work, own property, handle money, or read.[7] Worldwide infertility has resulted in the conscription of the few remaining fertile women in Gilead, called "Handmaids", according to an extremist interpretation of a Biblical account.[7] They are assigned to the homes of the ruling elite, where they must submit to ritualized rape by their male masters in order to become pregnant and bear children for those men and their wives.

text: Alongside the red-clad Handmaids, much of society is now grouped into classes that dictate their freedoms and duties. Women are divided into a small range of social categories, each one signified by a similarly-styled plain dress in a specific color: Handmaids wear red, Marthas (who are housekeepers and cooks) wear green, and Wives (who are expected to run their households) wear blue. Econowives, the lower-class women who still have minimal agency, are sort of a mixture of all these categories, and they wear gray (a departure from the book in which Econowives wear stripes). Women prisoners are called Carols and are worked to death clearing toxic waste. Another class of women, Aunts (who train and oversee the Handmaids), wear brown. Additionally, the Eyes are a secret police watching over the general populace for signs of rebellion, Hunters track down people attempting to flee the country, and Jezebels are prostitutes in secret brothels catering to the elite ruling class.

text: June Osborne, renamed Offred (Elisabeth Moss), is the Handmaid assigned to the home of the Gileadan Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski). Offred is subject to strict rules and constant scrutiny; an improper word or deed on her part can lead to brutal punishment. Offred, who is named after her male master like all Handmaids, can remember the "time before", when she was married and had a daughter, a job, a bank account, and her own name and identity, but all she can safely do now is follow the rules of Gilead in hopes that she can someday live free again and be reunited with her daughter. The Waterfords, key players in the rise of Gilead, have their own conflicts with the realities of the society they have helped create.

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne / Offred, a woman who was captured while attempting to escape to Canada with her husband, Luke, and daughter, Hannah. Due to her fertility, she is made a Handmaid to Commander Fred Waterford and his wife, Serena Joy, and is named "Offred".
Joseph Fiennes as Commander Fred Waterford, a high-ranking government official and June's master. Both he and his wife played an instrumental role in Gilead's founding. He wishes to have more contact with June outside of what is lawful between a Handmaid and her master, and starts inviting her to play nightly games of Scrabble.
Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford, Fred's wife and a former conservative cultural activist. She appears to have accepted her new role in a society that she helped create. She is poised and deeply religious, but capable of great cruelty and is often callous to June. She is desperate to become a mother.
Alexis Bledel as Emily / Ofglen / Ofsteven, June's shopping partner. Although June is initially wary of her, it is revealed Ofglen is not as pious as she seems, and the two become friends. Ofglen had a wife and son, and was a university lecturer in cellular biology. Being homosexual is punishable by death in Gilead, and most university professors are sent to labour camps, but Ofglen was spared and made a Handmaid, due to her fertility. She is later captured and punished for her relationship with a Martha, and is sent to another household where she becomes "Ofsteven". She is involved with a resistance movement called "Mayday".
Madeline Brewer as Janine / Ofwarren / Ofdaniel, a Handmaid who entered the Red Center for training at the same time as June and considers June a friend due to her kind treatment. Initially non-compliant, Janine's right eye is removed as a punishment. She becomes mentally unstable due to her treatment and often behaves in temperamental or childlike ways. She gives birth to a child for Warren and Naomi Putnam, whom they name "Angela", but Janine insists the baby's name is "Charlotte". Janine is later reassigned and becomes "Ofdaniel".
Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia, a woman in charge of overseeing the Handmaids in their reeducation and duties. She is brutal and subjects insubordinate Handmaids to harsh physical punishment, but she also cares for her charges and believes deeply in the Gileadean mission and doctrine. She appears to have a soft spot for Janine, and even goes so far as to address her by her given name on occasion. Showrunner Miller has suggested that Aunt Lydia was a schoolteacher before Gilead, and Dowd has said this, and her own upbringing as a student at Catholic schools, informs her performance.[8]
O. T. Fagbenle as Lucas "Luke" Bankole, June's husband from before Gilead. Because he and June began their relationship before his divorce from his first wife, their union is considered invalid in the new society. June is considered an adulteress and their daughter, Hannah, is considered illegitimate. Initially, June believes he has been killed, but it is later revealed Luke managed to escape to Canada.
Max Minghella as Nick Blaine, Commander Waterford's driver and a former drifter from Michigan who has feelings for June. June and Nick develop an intimate relationship and she eventually discovers that he is an Eye, a spy for Gilead.
Samira Wiley as Moira / Ruby, June's best friend since college. She is already at the Red Center when June enters Handmaid training but escapes before being assigned to a home. She is recaptured and becomes "Ruby", a Jezebel. She seems to have given up hope of ever being free, but on meeting June again regains the conviction to escape.
Amanda Brugel as Rita, a Martha at the Waterford home. She had a son who died fighting in the civil war when he was 19 years old.[9]

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Ever Carradine as Naomi Putnam, Commander Warren Putnam's wife. She views her baby largely as a status symbol and has no sympathy for the Handmaids.
Kristen Gutoskie as Beth, a Martha at Jezebel's. She has an arrangement with Nick whereby she trades illegal alcohol and other contraband for drugs, which the Jezebels use. She has a casual sexual relationship with him and is aware that he is an Eye.
Tattiawna Jones as Lillie Fuller/Ofglen #2, who replaces Emily in the position after Emily is captured by the Eyes. She follows the rules and does not wish to upset the status quo, but this is because she believes her life as a Handmaid is better than the difficult, impoverished life she led prior to Gilead, rather than out of religious piety.
Nina Kiri as Alma / Ofrobert, another Handmaid who trained at the Red Center with June, Moira, and Janine. She is frank and chatty, and often trades gossip and news with June. She is also involved with Mayday and becomes June's first contact with the resistance group.
Jenessa Grant as Ofsamuel, a local Handmaid with a friendly and talkative nature.
Jordana Blake as Hannah Bankole, June and Luke's daughter.
Erin Way as Erin, a young mute woman who was being trained to become a Handmaid but managed to escape.[10]
Sydney Sweeney as Eden Spencer (season 2), a pious and obedient girl who dreams of one day being a Commander's wife.[11]
Bradley Whitford as Commander Joseph Lawrence (season 2), the architect of Gilead’s economy, who is gruff and intimidating, with a disheveled mad genius vibe. His sly humor and flashes of kindness make him a confusing, mysterious presence for his newest Handmaid.[12]

text: Guest[edit]

text:
Marisa Tomei as Mrs. O'Conner (season 2), a Commander's wife who is sent to the colonies as punishment for having sex with another man.[13]
Cherry Jones as Holly Maddox (season 2), June's mother, an outspoken feminist.[14]
Clea DuVall as Sylvia (season 2), Emily's wife.[15]
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Omar (season 2) a man who aids June in her escape.
John Carroll Lynch as Dan (season 2), Emily's boss at the university where she worked.
Kelly Jenrette as Annie (season 2), Luke's ex-wife.

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Series overview[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally released

First released
Last released

1
10
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)
June 14, 2017 (2017-06-14)

2
13[16]
April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)
July 11, 2018 (2018-07-11)[16]

text: Season 1 (2017)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Teleplay by
Original release date

1
1
"Offred"
Reed Morano
Bruce Miller
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)

A family is pursued by a group of armed men. The woman is caught, and separated from her young daughter and husband as shots are fired in the distance. She is now known as Offred, the Handmaid to Commander Fred Waterford. While walking with another Handmaid, Ofglen, she and Ofglen pass by a wall on which men have been hanged for crimes such as being gay, working in an abortion clinic, and being a Catholic priest.[17] In a flashback, various women are indoctrinated into their Handmaid roles by Aunt Lydia, and Offred notices Moira, a woman she knew in college. Handmaid Janine taunts Aunt Lydia and is shocked with a cattle prod, later her right eye is removed as punishment. In the present, Commander Waterford tries to impregnate Offred during "the Ceremony" as she lies in the lap of his wife, Serena Joy. The next day, the Handmaids are encouraged to beat a man to death after Lydia announces he raped a pregnant Handmaid. Janine tells Offred that her friend Moira is dead. On the way home, Ofglen tells Offred that she had a wife and son, and warns her there is an Eye in the Waterford house. Offred affirms to herself that her true name is June and that she intends to survive to find her daughter.

2
2
"Birth Day"
Reed Morano
Bruce Miller
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)

Offred and Ofglen go shopping, and they reveal more personal information about themselves to each other. While they are walking, they see St. Paul Catholic Church, their local church, being destroyed by the new régime.[18][17] Ofglen tells Offred that the régime also bulldozed St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan to try to "erase" the fact that it ever existed. When Offred asks how Ofglen knows this information, she reveals that she is part of a resistance movement against the government, but Offred declines to join.[19] Commander Waterford's driver, Nick, tells Offred that the Commander wants to see her alone later that night, which is forbidden, and warns her that Ofglen is dangerous. Offred and other Handmaids visit a home to witness the birth of Ofwarren (Janine)'s child, named Angela by the Puttnams, but Charlotte by Ofwarren. In flashbacks, June (Offred) remembers the birth of her and Luke's daughter, Hannah. At that time healthy births were already rare, and a woman who tried to kidnap baby Hannah was arrested. Warily, Offred goes to the Commander's office, but he just wants to play Scrabble, to her relief. The next day, when Offred prepares to tell Ofglen what happened that night, a different woman introduces herself as Ofglen.

3
3
"Late"
Reed Morano
Bruce Miller
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)

In flashbacks, the rise of Gilead is detailed. June and all the other women at her office were fired, and the government froze women's bank accounts and ruled they could no longer own property. In the present, Serena takes Offred to see Ofwarren and the baby, and Offred fears Ofwarren is delusional. Back home, Offred is interrogated by an Eye and Aunt Lydia about her knowledge of Ofglen. Offred eventually reveals she knew Ofglen was gay and for this, Aunt Lydia shocks Offred with a cattle prod. Before she can leave the room, Offred quotes one of the Beatitudes from the Bible, which would have earned her a much more serious beating, but Serena intervenes, believing that Offred is pregnant. When Offred later tells Serena that she's not pregnant, Serena angrily locks her in her room. In a flashback, June and Moira attend a protest against the new laws amidst automatic gunfire and explosives. In the present, Ofglen and the Martha she's in a relationship with are charged with "gender treachery". The fertile Ofglen receives a lesser sentence, but the Martha is executed by hanging as Ofglen watches, sobbing and horrified. Later, Ofglen (now referred to by her "old" name, Emily), to her grief and anger, undergoes female genital mutilation surgery as explained by Aunt Lydia.

4
4
"Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum"
Mike Barker
Leila Gerstein
May 3, 2017 (2017-05-03)

Banished to her room, Offred retreats to her closet where she finds what appears to be a Latin phrase, Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum, scratched discreetly into the wall. When Rita, the Commander's housekeeper, finds Offred lying on the closet floor, Offred tells her that she fainted. Serena then has Offred sent to the hospital for a check-up. During the examination the physician remarks that the Commander is most likely sterile, as is common. He offers to personally impregnate her but she declines. In flashbacks, Aunt Lydia teaches the Handmaids about The Ceremony in which a Commander endeavours to fertilize a Handmaid. Later, June and Moira assault Aunt Elizabeth, and Moira takes Elizabeth's outfit. June and Moira plan to escape via train to Boston, which has safe houses. Moira manages to catch the train without June, who lets Moira know it's okay. June is later caught and punished by having her feet whipped. Commander Waterford has an unsuccessful Ceremony night with Offred, but later that night, they have another game of Scrabble. She asks him about the Latin phrase, and he tells her it means, Don't let the bastards grind you down. When she inquires about the previous Offred, he tells her that she committed suicide because life was unbearable. He then releases Offred from her solitary confinement.

5
5
"Faithful"
Mike Barker
Dorothy Fortenberry
May 10, 2017 (2017-05-10)

Serena suggests to Offred that she have sex with Nick in case Commander Waterford is sterile. Later that day, Serena leads Offred up to Nick's room and waits by the door while Offred and Nick have detached, Ceremony-like sex. Flashbacks detail Luke and June's first meeting and courtship. At the grocery store, Offred talks to the original Ofglen, now called Ofsteven, but Ofsteven is not as responsive as she used to be. During a Ceremony night, the Commander touches Offred's thigh, which she later tells him never to do again. In their ensuing conversation, the Commander admits that while they thought they were building a better world, they knew that "better never means better for everyone." Nick reveals to Offred that he is indeed an Eye. At an open-air market, Offred questions Ofsteven about the resistance group called Mayday. Ofsteven jumps behind the steering wheel of a security car and drives erratically around the plaza. She hits a guard, and is caught and put into a black van. Offred returns to Nick's coach house alone, and they have passionate sex.

6
6
"A Woman's Place"
Floria Sigismondi
Wendy Straker Hauser
May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17)

Mexican trade delegates visit the Commander's home to evaluate the effects of the Gilead cultural movement. The female head of the delegation questions Offred about her experience, but she lies, saying that she is happy. Offred visits the Commander's office later, but there is tension. She reluctantly obeys his demand to kiss him, but ferociously brushes her teeth afterward. The Handmaids and children are then taken to a function to demonstrate Gilead's success. Offred's friend remarks that the delegates are only interested in fertile women. The next day, as the delegates are leaving, Offred tells them the brutal truth about Gilead. She pleads for their help, but in response, the Mexican ambassador explains her own country's dire situation. However, the ambassador's assistant quietly claims June's husband is alive and that he can deliver a message to Luke. A flashback details Serena and Fred's life at the beginnings of the Gilead movement when Serena was a conservative cultural activist with passion and intelligence equal to her husband's. Serena Joy wrote a book about her beliefs, titled A Woman's Place. However, after the takeover, she is completely shut out of the new government planning and accepts her new limited role in the society she helped create. A copy of her book is seen being thrown out with the trash.

7
7
"The Other Side"
Floria Sigismondi
Lynn Renee Maxcy
May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24)

A flashback chronicles Luke's story after he becomes separated from his wife and daughter. Luke is shot by Gileadan guards, but he escapes when the ambulance crashes, and he takes some medical supplies. He reaches a small abandoned town and, after passing out from his wounds, is rescued by a resistance group traveling to Canada. These survivors included a Roman Catholic nun, a seemingly mute escaped Handmaid, a homosexual man, and a daughter of a US Army soldier.[20] Initially reluctant, Luke joins them after one of the survivors, Zoe, shows him that Gileadan authorities hung townspeople from the rafters of their church for resisting.[21][22] As they board a boat, Gileadan guards open fire, killing several members of the group, but Luke and Erin, the escaped Handmaid, survive. A further flashback shows Luke, June, and their daughter Hannah before they were separated. June and Luke are helped by Mr. Whitford, a man who knew June's mother. He leaves them at a secluded cabin in the woods while he arranges documentation for them to escape to Canada. Later, a local hunter tells them Whitford has been caught and hanged, but the hunter helps them cross the border. Three years later, in the present, Luke and Erin live safely in "Little America", based in Toronto, Ontario. While in the main administrative office, Luke receives the letter from June, which reads "I love you so much. Save Hannah."

8
8
"Jezebels"
Kate Dennis
Kira Snyder
May 31, 2017 (2017-05-31)

Commander Waterford gifts Offred with makeup and a dress as he is taking her out for the night. Nick drives them to Boston to an underground brothel, where prostitutes (known as "Jezebels") work. Offred spots Moira working in the club, and they briefly reunite. Nick trades drugs and pregnancy tests for alcohol with one of the brothel's Marthas. Offred goes to see Moira again, and she explains to Offred how Quakers tried to help her escape but were caught.[23][24] Moira had the choice of being sent either to the colonies or one of the brothels.[24] Moira tells Offred, "Forget about escaping. This is Gilead. No one gets out." Offred reveals to Moira that she knows Luke is alive. Flashbacks detail how Nick got involved with the Gilead movement and how he became an Eye after reporting a Commander for breaking protocol with his Handmaids. There are other flashbacks to the suicide of the previous Offred, with Serena pointedly saying to her husband, "What did you think was going to happen?" In the present, after Nick drives Waterford and Offred home, he ends his relationship with Offred, which upsets and angers her. Offred receives a gift from Serena, a music box. The episode closes with Offred etching "You are not alone" into the closet wall.

9
9
"The Bridge"
Kate Dennis
Eric Tuchman
June 7, 2017 (2017-06-07)

Ofwarren's daughter is handed over to Commander Putnam and his wife, and Ofwarren is transferred to another couple and renamed Ofdaniel. However, Offred is worried about Ofwarren/Ofdaniel's mental state. During the first Ceremony night with her new Commander, Ofdaniel forcefully stops it. At the market, Alma pulls Offred aside, tells her that she is involved with the resistance group Mayday, and requests that Offred retrieve a package from the bar at Jezebel's. Offred convinces Waterford to take her to Jezebel's again that night. After Offred and Waterford have sex in their room, Waterford presents Moira, as he believes they have a sexual attraction. Offred asks Moira to retrieve the package, but she refuses, seemingly resigned to her fate. The next day Offred is taken to a bridge where Ofdaniel is standing on the edge with baby Charlotte, while Gileadan guards, the Putnams, the Waterfords, and Aunt Lydia stand fearfully by. Ofdaniel shouts that Commander Putnam promised to leave his wife for her. Offred convinces Ofdaniel to give her the child, and Ofdaniel then jumps into the icy water below. Later, while Ofdaniel lies comatose in hospital, Commander Putnam is led away by guards. When Serena Joy tries to offer comfort to Mrs. Putnam, she reminds Serena of the first Offred's fate, causing Serena to doubt her husband's loyalty. At the market, Offred is given a package by the butcher, sent by Moira from Jezebel's. At the brothel, Moira kills a client and takes his clothes, then jubilantly drives off in his car.

10
10
"Night"
Kari Skogland
Bruce Miller
June 14, 2017 (2017-06-14)

A flashback shows June’s capture and indoctrination by Aunt Lydia at the Red Center. After Serena discovers Fred's trips to Jezebel's, she slaps Offred hard and forces her to take a pregnancy test. It is positive. Serena then angrily accuses her husband, telling him the child is not his. Upon learning the news, Nick shares a brief, tender moment with Offred. Serena takes Offred to where Hannah now lives, but Offred is kept in the car, and unable to attract her daughter's attention. Serena warns Offred that Hannah will be cared for as long as the unborn child is safe. Fred participates in Commander Putnam’s trial advocating leniency, but Mrs. Putnam wants the harshest punishment possible, and ultimately Putnam's left arm is amputated at the elbow. The package from Jezebel's contains letters from women who have lost family members and been enslaved in the Gilead takeover. Later, an emotional Aunt Lydia gathers the Handmaids for the execution of Janine/Ofdaniel. The Handmaids hesitate, and Ofglen #2 is brutally beaten when she voices her angry refusal. Offred, then the other Handmaids, drop their stones. The guards prepare to kill them all, but Aunt Lydia saves them, although assuring them that there will be consequences. Not long afterward, a black van comes for Offred. Nick urges her to trust him and go with them. Offred's transfer is unusual, as neither of the Waterfords have any idea this would be happening. As Offred leaves, she whispers to Rita where to find the hidden letters. In a side story, Moira reaches Canada and is reunited with Luke.

text: Season 2 (2018)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Teleplay by
Original release date

11
1
"June"
Mike Barker
Bruce Miller
April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)

Offred and other handmaids are taken to Fenway Park where they are made to believe they will be hanged, which is a trick. During another punishment, Offred is freed after Aunt Lydia is told of her pregnancy. When she rejects a meal Aunt Lydia gives her, she is shown a pregnant handmaid, Ofwyatt, chained in a prison room due to her attempt to induce an abortion with drain cleaner. Offred agrees to eat, and during her meal Aunt Lydia, who had told her that her friends would be punished for their disobedience but her pregnancy would mean that she would be exempted, brings the other handmaids into the room, and one by one they are burned with a gas flame. Later, Offred is at a pregnancy check-up, where she is visited by Fred and Serena, but afterwards finds a key in one of her boots, which she uses to escape to a van parked underneath the hospital. The van drops her off to a safe house in Back Bay where she meets Nick, while Fred authorises a highly resourced search for her. He tells her to change out of her handmaid outfit, and to cut her hair. After stripping off her handmaid's dress, she burns it, before cutting the red cattle tag out of her ear. In flashbacks throughout the episode, Hannah is admitted to the hospital for having a fever while in school; June is questioned by one of the hospital workers about giving Hannah medication to bypass the school's fever policy, as well as questioning June and Luke's fitness as parents. Later, they arrive home to a news story about the Capitol Building and the White House being attacked.

12
2
"Unwomen"
Mike Barker
Bruce Miller
April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)

June has been transported to the former headquarters of The Boston Globe, another safe place arranged by Mayday.[25] Emily has been taken to the Colonies, where infertile women ("Unwomen") are forced to dig on highly toxic land. Many of the Unwomen are falling sick, and Emily is doing what she can to help them. A Commander's wife, Mrs. O'Conner, arrives at the Colonies and is not welcomed by the Unwomen. Nick visits June and she gets upset when he tells her she needs to wait for several weeks before she can leave because everyone is looking for her. Nick ends up giving her the keys to a car and a gun but she decides to stay, and they have sex several times. At the Colonies, Emily befriends Mrs. O'Conner, who admits that she was taken to the colonies for committing a "sin of the flesh." Emily gives her antibiotics that turn out to be poison, which leads to her death. Emily blames her for "holding a woman down while her husband rapes her."[25] Janine arrives at the Colonies, where she embraces Emily; the Unwomen are warned that there will be consequences for Mrs. O'Conner's death. In a flashback, after the attack on the Capitol Building and the White House, Emily is told by her boss, Professor Dan, that she will not be teaching the following semester at the University and is told to see this as an opportunity, but in reality it is a caution because of her sexual orientation. Professor Dan is later seen hanged at the University with the word "faggot" spray painted underneath him. While Emily, along with her wife Syl and son Oliver, attempt to emigrate to Canada, she is told she is unable to leave the country without an exit visa, as their same-sex marriage license is no longer recognized. Because she is the biological mother of Oliver, and therefore has viable ovaries, she is forced to stay behind in the United States. June makes a memorial for The Boston Globe employees who were executed at the newspaper's former headquarters and prays to God to send an angel to watch over it.[25]

13
3
"Baggage"
Kari Skogland
Dorothy Fortenberry
May 2, 2018 (2018-05-02)

June searches for videos and articles about events leading up to the revolution from the Boston Globe. Nick then tells her to move to another safe place where she meets Omar. He abruptly abandons her after receiving a text, but she stops in front of his van to make him take her. They both get to Omar's apartment, where she meets Omar's wife, Heather, and their child, Adam. In the morning, June is left alone when his family does not come back after leaving for church. Left alone in the house, June snoops in various places in the home and finds a Qur'an and a prayer rug hidden under the bedsprings; she suspects the couple was detained and possibly executed for their hidden faith. She dons Heather's Econowife outfit, a plain gray knit ensemble which wives of lower class men wear, and gets out of the apartment, blending in with other Econowives. After a westbound train ride, June runs into the woods where her daughter was taken away. She realizes she has no way of rescuing Hannah and advances to an airstrip west of Worcester where Omar had said a plane will take her to safety; however, the plane is shot down when taking off, the pilot is executed in place, and she is apprehended by the Guardians. Meanwhile, Moira, now living with Luke and Erin in Canada, gives a tour to a new co-worker but he has a breakdown, traumatized by what he did as a Guardian. In a flashback, we see June as a child being taken to a Take Back the Night rally by her mother, Holly. When she grew up, Holly was upset because June worked at a book publishing company and for marrying Luke, instead of "getting out in the street and fighting." At the Red Center, Aunt Lydia lectured the Handmaids about the polluted world and human fertility while the projector showed a picture of Holly laboring on a farm in the Colonies.

14
4
"Other Women"
Kari Skogland
Yahlin Chang
May 9, 2018 (2018-05-09)

June is taken back and chained to a bed. Aunt Lydia explains that if she cooperates, June will be taken back in by the Waterfords and June (now Offred) agrees. The Commander treats Offred's disappearance as a kidnapping, but Serena is furious and attempts to choke Offred once. Rita returns the letters she found and tells Offred that she will no longer be involved. Serena hosts a baby shower where Offred is happy to see Nick. During the shower, the wives and the handmaids pray together "let the little children come to me". Shortly afterwards, Offred learns from Alma that Ofglen's tongue was removed for speaking up to save Ofwarren (Janine) as she was about to be stoned and that Mayday has now gone silent. Aunt Lydia takes Offred for a walk to the wall, where Omar was hanged for trying to help Offred escape. Aunt Lydia informs Offred that Omar's wife, Heather, is now a handmaid and that their child, Adam, was given away to another family. Aunt Lydia tells Offred that this was her fault, and Offred accepts the blame. In a flashback, June sees Luke's first wife Annie, who tells her that they made wedding vows before God and as a result, June should stop talking to Luke to allow them to fix their marriage. June chooses to ignore Annie, and a few years later Annie later sees Luke and June in a restaurant with their child Hannah. Offred is seen as being more docile as she requests to stay with the Commander and Mrs. Waterford. When Nick tries to talk to her, she is very formal.

15
5
"Seeds"
Mike Barker
Kira Snyder
May 16, 2018 (2018-05-16)

Offred notices that she is bleeding, but does not inform anyone. Nick notices Offred's apparent depression and lets Mrs. Waterford know about it after both she and Offred return from a stroll. Mrs. Waterford informs her husband that Nick seems concerned for Offred. Commander Waterford has Nick participate in a wedding service held for Guardians as a token to their work for Gilead. When they return from the wedding, Commander and Mrs. Waterford host a small celebration for Nick and his new bride Eden, including a reading from 1 Corinthians 13 and a champagne toast. Nick later finds Offred in the bushes outside the Waterfords' house and she is taken to the hospital, where both Offred and Mrs. Waterford learn that the baby is okay. Offred promises to her baby that they both will escape Gilead. Meanwhile, in the Colonies, Janine assures Emily that God is protecting them through their struggles in Gilead. Janine then helps to arrange a small wedding for an ill worker, officiated by a woman who served as a Jewish rabbi in pre-Gilead times. Emily is distraught by the fact that she is losing her teeth and seems upset that Janine wishes to bring brightness to a place that otherwise seems so bleak. Later, the ill worker dies and the rabbi officiates the burial as she is lowered into her grave in a cemetery adorned with crosses.

16
6
"First Blood"
Mike Barker
Eric Tuchman
May 23, 2018 (2018-05-23)

Offred and Serena seem to be bonding when Serena gathers several handmaids and hosts lunch in Offred's honor. Serena offers Offred to sleep in her sitting room and shows Offred the nursery for the baby. Offred asks to see Hannah, which angers Serena. Eden reveals to Offred that she fears Nick may be a gender traitor due to his reluctance to have sex with her. Offred warns Nick and Nick has sex with Eden to avoid suspicion. Fred visits Offred in secret and gives her a photograph of Hannah. Nick asks Commander Pryce to be reassigned a different position. Ofglen goes rogue at the opening of the Rachel and Leah center and detonates a bomb in the center. Flashbacks show Serena promoting her book tour A Woman's Place and being verbally attacked and shot by a protester, as well as Fred's efforts in punishing those who threatened Serena.

17
7
"After"
Kari Skogland
Lynn Renee Maxcy
May 30, 2018 (2018-05-30)

18
8
"Women's Work"[26]
TBA
TBA
June 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)

text: Production[edit]

text: A straight-to-series order by Hulu of The Handmaid's Tale was announced in April 2016, with Elisabeth Moss set to star.[27] Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, the series was created by Bruce Miller, who is also an executive producer with Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Warren Littlefield.[27] Atwood serves as consulting producer, giving feedback on some of the areas where the series expands upon or modernizes the book.[27][28] She also played a small cameo role in the first episode.[29] Moss is also a producer.[30] In June 2016, Reed Morano was announced as director of the series.[31] Samira Wiley, Max Minghella, and Ann Dowd joined the cast in July 2016.[32][33][34] Joseph Fiennes, Madeline Brewer, and Yvonne Strahovski were cast in August 2016,[35][36][37] followed by O. T. Fagbenle and Amanda Brugel in September 2016.[38][39] In October 2016, Ever Carradine joined the cast,[40] and Alexis Bledel was added in January 2017.[41]

text: Filming on the series took place in Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Oakville, and Cambridge, Ontario, from September 2016 to February 2017.[42][43] The first full trailer of the TV series was released by Hulu on YouTube on March 23, 2017.[44] The series premiered on April 26, 2017.[45]

text: On May 3, 2017, The Handmaid's Tale was renewed for a second season to premiere in 2018.[46] Moss told the news media that the subsequent episodes would cover further developments in the story, filling in some of the unanswered questions and continuing the narrative already "finished" in the book.[47] The second season consists of 13 episodes and began filming in fall 2017. Alexis Bledel returned as a series regular.[48] Showrunner Bruce Miller stated that he envisioned 10 seasons of the show, stating, "Well, you know, honestly, when I started, I tried to game out in my head what would ten seasons be like? If you hit a home run, you want energy to go around the bases, you want enough story to keep going, if you can hook the audience to care about these people enough that they're actually crying at the finale."[49]

text: Broadcast and release[edit]

text: The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017; the subsequent seven episodes were released on a weekly basis.[45][50] In Canada, the series is broadcast by Bravo; the first two episodes premiered on April 30, 2017.[51] In Scandinavia, the series is available on HBO Nordic.[52] In the United Kingdom, the series premiered on May 28, 2017, on Channel 4.[53] In Ireland, the series premiered on February 5, 2018 on RTÉ2, with a showing of the first two episodes.[54] RTÉ also become the first broadcaster in Europe to debut Season 2 following its broadcast in the US and Canada.[55]

text: In New Zealand, the series was released on the subscription video on demand service Lightbox on June 8, 2017.[56] In Australia, the series premiered on the TV channel SBS's video streaming service SBS on Demand, on July 6, 2017.[57]

text: The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 13, 2018.[58]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text:
Season
Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic

1
96% (106 reviews)
92 (41 reviews)

2
94% (64 reviews)
86 (28 reviews)

text: Season 1[edit]

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 96% based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 8.71/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Haunting and vivid, The Handmaid's Tale is an endlessly engrossing adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel that's anchored by a terrific central performance from Elisabeth Moss."[59] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[60]

text: Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter called it "probably the spring's best new show".[61] Jen Chaney of Vulture gave it a highly positive review, and wrote that it is "A faithful adaptation of the book that also brings new layers to Atwood's totalitarian, sexist world of forced surrogate motherhood" and that "this series is meticulously paced, brutal, visually stunning, and so suspenseful from moment to moment that only at the end of each hour will you feel fully at liberty to exhale".[62]

text: There was much debate on whether parallels could be drawn between the series (and by extension, the book it is based on) and American society following Donald Trump and Mike Pence's elections as President and Vice President of the United States, respectively.[63] [64] A comparison has also been made to the Salafi/Wahabbi extremism of ISIL, under which enslaved women of religious minorities are passed around and utilized as sex objects and vessels to bear new jihadis.[65][66]

text: Season 2[edit]

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 94% based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 8.34/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Beautifully shot but dishearteningly relevant, The Handmaid's Tale centers its sophomore season tightly around its compelling cast of characters, making room for broader social commentary through more intimate lenses."[67] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[68]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee(s)
Result
Ref.

2017
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Drama Series
Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Boccia (producers), Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Ilene Chaiken (executive producers), Sheila Hockin, Eric Tuchman, Frank Siracusa, John Weber (co-executive producers), Kira Snyder (supervising producer), and Leila Gerstein (consulting producer)
Won
[69]

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Elisabeth Moss (for "Night")
Won

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Ann Dowd (for "Offred")
Won

Samira Wiley (for "Night")
Nominated

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Reed Morano (for "Offred")
Won

Kate Dennis (for "The Bridge")
Nominated

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Bruce Miller (for "Offred")
Won

Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Alexis Bledel (for "Late")
Won

Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Russell Scott, Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas
Nominated

Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)
Colin Watkinson (for "Offred")
Won

Outstanding Period/Fantasy Costumes for a Series, Limited Series, or Movie
Ane Crabtree and Sheena Wichary (for "Offred")
Nominated

Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More)
Julie Berghoff, Evan Webber and Sophie Neudorfer (for "Offred")
Won

Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role
Brendan Taylor, Stephen Lebed, Leo Bovell, Martin O'Brien, Winston Lee, Kelly Knauff, Zach Dembinski, Mike Suta and Cameron Kerr (for "Birth Day")
Nominated

Peabody Award
Entertainment, children's and youth honoree
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[70]

Gold Derby TV Awards
Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Nominated
[71]

Drama Actress
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Drama Guest Actress
Alexis Bledel
Won

TCA Awards
Program of the Year
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[72]

Outstanding Achievement in Drama
Won

Outstanding New Program
Nominated

Individual Achievement in Drama
Elisabeth Moss
Nominated

American Film Institute Awards
Top 10 TV Programs of the Year
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[73]

2018
American Cinema Editors Awards
Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television
Julian Clarke and Wendy Hallam Martin (for "Offred")
Won
[74]

Art Directors Guild Awards
One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Television Series
Julie Berghoff (for "Offred", "Birth Day", "Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum")
Won
[75]

Andrew Stearn (for "The Bridge")
Nominated

Cinema Audio Society Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – One Hour
John J. Thomson, Lou Solakofski, Joe Morrow and Don White (for "Offred")
Nominated
[76]

Costume Designers Guild Awards
Excellence in Contemporary Television Series
Ane Crabtree
Won
[77]

Critics' Choice Television Awards
Best Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[78]

Best Actress in a Drama Series
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Ann Dowd
Won

Directors Guild of America Awards
Outstanding Directorial Achievement for a Drama Series
Reed Morano (for "Offred")
Won
[79]

Golden Globe Awards
Best Television Series – Drama
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[80]

Best Actress – Television Series Drama
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Ann Dowd
Nominated

Location Managers Guild Awards
Outstanding Locations in Contemporary Television
John Musikka, Geoffrey Smither
Nominated
[81]

Producers Guild of America Awards
Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[82]

Satellite Awards
Best Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Nominated
[83]

Best Actress in a Drama / Genre Series
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or TV Film
Ann Dowd
Won

Saturn Awards
Best New Media Television Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Pending
[84]

Screen Actors Guild Awards
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Ann Dowd, O. T. Fagbenle, Joseph Fiennes, Tattiawna Jones, Max Minghella, Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski and Samira Wiley
Nominated
[85]

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Elisabeth Moss
Nominated

USC Scripter Awards
Best Adapted TV Screenplay
Bruce Miller and Margaret Atwood (for "Offred")
Won
[86]

Writers Guild of America Awards
Drama Series
Ilene Chaiken, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Leila Gerstein, John Herrera, Lynn Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Wendy Straker Hauser, Eric Tuchman
Won
[87]

New Series
Won


document_title: Lymphatic vessel

question_text: what is the main function of the lymph vessels

text: Lymphatic vessel

text: Structure[edit]

text: The general structure of lymphatics is based on that of blood vessels. There is an inner lining of single flattened epithelial cells (simple squamous epithelium) composed of a type of epithelium that is called endothelium, and the cells are called endothelial cells. This layer functions to mechanically transport fluid and since the basement membrane on which it rests is discontinuous; it leaks easily.[1] The next layer is that of smooth muscles that are arranged in a circular fashion around the endothelium, which by shortening (contracting) or relaxing alter the diameter (caliber) of the lumen. The outermost layer is the adventitia that consists of fibrous tissue. The general structure described here is seen only in larger lymphatics; smaller lymphatics have fewer layers. The smallest vessels (lymphatic or lymph capillaries) lack both the muscular layer and the outer adventitia. As they proceed forward and in their course are joined by other capillaries, they grow larger and first take on an adventitia, and then smooth muscles.

text: The lymphatic conducting system broadly consists of two types of channels—the initial lymphatics, the prelymphatics or lymph capillaries that specialize in collection of the lymph from the ISF, and the larger lymph vessels that propel the lymph forward.

text: Unlike the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system is not closed and has no central pump. Lymph movement occurs despite low pressure due to peristalsis (propulsion of the lymph due to alternate contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle), valves, and compression during contraction of adjacent skeletal muscle and arterial pulsation.[2]

text: Lymph capillaries[edit]

text: The lymphatic circulation begins with blind ending (closed at one end) highly permeable superficial lymph capillaries, formed by endothelial cells with button-like junctions between them that allow fluid to pass through them when the interstitial pressure is sufficiently high.[3] These button-like junctions consist of protein filaments like platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1, or PECAM-1. A valve system in place here prevents the absorbed lymph from leaking back into the ISF. There is another system of semilunar (semi=half; lunar=related to the Moon) valves that prevents back-flow of lymph along the lumen of the vessel.[3] Lymph capillaries have many interconnections (anastomoses) between them and form a very fine network.[4]

text: Rhythmic contraction of the vessel walls through movements may also help draw fluid into the smallest lymphatic vessels, capillaries. If tissue fluid builds up the tissue will swell; this is called edema. As the circular path through the body's system continues, the fluid is then transported to progressively larger lymphatic vessels culminating in the right lymphatic duct (for lymph from the right upper body) and the thoracic duct (for the rest of the body); both ducts drain into the circulatory system at the right and left subclavian veins. The system collaborates with white blood cells in lymph nodes to protect the body from being infected by cancer cells, fungi, viruses or bacteria. This is known as a secondary circulatory system.

text: Lymph vessels[edit]

text: The lymph capillaries drain the lymph to larger contractile lymphatics, which have valves as well as smooth muscle walls. These are called the collecting lymphatics.[2] As the collecting lymph vessel accumulates lymph from more and more lymph capillaries in its course, it becomes larger and is called the afferent lymph vessel as it enters a lymph node. Here the lymph percolates through the lymph node tissue and is removed by the efferent lymph vessel. An efferent lymph vessel may directly drain into one of the (right or thoracic) lymph ducts, or may empty into another lymph node as its afferent lymph vessel.[4] Both the lymph ducts return the lymph to the blood stream by emptying into the subclavian veins

text: The functional unit of a lymph vessel is known as a lymphangion, which is the segment between two valves. Since it is contractile, depending upon the ratio of its length to its radius, it can act either like a contractile chamber propelling the fluid ahead, or as a resistance vessel tending to stop the lymph in its place.[5]

text: Function[edit]

text: Lymph vessels act as reservoirs for plasma and other substances including cells that have leaked from the vascular system and transport lymph fluid back from the tissues to the circulatory system. Without functioning lymph vessels, lymph cannot be effectively drained and edema typically results.

text: Afferent vessels[edit]

text: The afferent lymph vessels enter at all parts of the periphery of the lymph node, and after branching and forming a dense plexus in the substance of the capsule, open into the lymph sinuses of the cortical part. It carries unfiltered lymph into the node. In doing this they lose all their coats except their endothelial lining, which is continuous with a layer of similar cells lining the lymph paths.

text: Afferent lymphatic vessels are only found in lymph nodes. This is in contrast to efferent lymphatic vessel which are also found in the thymus and spleen.

text: Efferent vessels[edit]

text: The efferent lymphatic vessel commences from the lymph sinuses of the medullary portion of the lymph nodes and leave the lymph nodes at the hilum, either to veins or greater nodes. It carries filtered lymph out of the node.

text: Efferent lymphatic vessels are also found in the thymus and spleen. This is in contrast to afferent lymphatic vessels, which are found only in lymph nodes.

text: Clinical significance[edit]

text: Lymphangiomatosis is a disease involving multiple cysts or lesions formed from lymphatic vessels.