Dr. Emil Vodder and his wife Dr. Estrid Vodder pioneered the specialty of medicine called "lymphology". While working on the French Riviera

French Riviera

The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...

 treating patients with chronic colds, they noticed these patients had swollen lymph nodes. In the 1930s it was taboo to tamper with the lymphatic system

Lymphatic system

The lymphoid system is the part of the immune system comprising a network of conduits called lymphatic vessels that carry a clear fluid called lymph unidirectionally toward the heart. Lymphoid tissue is found in many organs, particularly the lymph nodes, and in the lymphoid follicles associated...

 due to the medical profession's poor understanding of this system. The Vodders were not deterred by this, and in 1932 began to study the lymph system, and developed careful hand movements to cause lymph movement. In 1936 after four years of research they introduced this technique to the world in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France. They spent the rest of their lives demonstrating and teaching this method.

This careful hand movement that stretches and twists the skin to move the lymph is taught in its unaltered form today and is the gold standard for Manual lymphatic drainage

Manual lymphatic drainage

Manual lymphatic drainage is a type of gentle massage which is intended by proponents to encourage the natural circulation of the lymph through the body...

.