When Dr. Emil Vodder and his wife Estrid developed Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) in 1930s France, they saw, and moreover felt with their hands, instances of congestion in the subcutis and the corresponding lymphatic pathways in patients with chronic catarrhal infections of the upper respiratory tract.With pumping, circular flat strokes they were able to drain such congestion away and thus help patients regain well-being. In anatomical works they found pictures of ink-injected lymphatic vessels (published by Sappey, Paris, 1885), whereupon they began using their pumping decongestive strokes along the lymphatic pathways.This is how they developed a new technique, which they called “MANUAL LYMPH DRAINAGE”.