Interstitium Newly discovered organ runs through our entire body

Liquids fast track discovered in human anatomy

A new discovery has the potential for significant advances in medicine. Apparently, American researchers have discovered an unknown system in the human body that could be a new organ. The so-called interstitium is a body-wide network of interconnected, fluid-filled chambers supported by a web of strong, flexible proteins. Among other things, this network could provide groundbreaking insights into the spread of cancer in the body.

The discovery is a kind of street for liquids of the human body. This network consists of interconnected chambers in which liquids can move. These chambers connect the digestive tract, the lungs and the urinary tract as well as the surrounding arteries, veins and the fasciae between the muscles in one system. The results of the study were recently published in the scientific journal "Scientific Reports".

A newly discovered network of fluid-filled chambers runs throughout the body and is considered a separate organ in a recent study. (Image: adimas / fotolia.com)

What task does the newly discovered system fulfill?

This series of chambers is reinforced by a network of collagens and flexible connective tissue proteins. The whole system works in a similar way to a shock absorber, which prevents the tissue from tearing, while organs, muscles and vessels pump, pulsate and contract in their normal function.

The Liquids Road

The new network discovered is a kind of moving fluid road that runs through the entire body and connects everything together. The researchers suggest that this could explain why cancer is more likely to spread as soon as the disease enters this system.

One of the largest organs in humans?

The study authors report that over half of the fluid in the body is bound in cells and about one-seventh inside the heart, blood vessels, lymph nodes, and lymphatics. The remaining liquid moves in the interstices. This "free" fluid is called interstitial in medicine. The researchers consider this fluid system as an independent organ. Thus, the so-called interstitium would be one of the largest organs of the human body.

First consideration as a coherent system

The scientists of the study are the first to consider the interstitium as a coherent unit. In previous studies, only frozen tissue studies were performed on slides that were believed to map the most accurate view of biological reality.

Wrong assumptions

In the previous type of investigation, however, any liquid had drained off and this had led to the false assumption that the fluid-filled tissue chambers are solids. "The study of the fixation artifact has made a fluid-filled tissue type solid in biopsy slides throughout the body for decades," reports a lead author of study Neil D. Theise, professor of pathology at NYU Langone Health, in a press release. The results of the study would have corrected this erroneous assumption in human anatomy.

Potential for significant advances in medicine

"This finding has the potential to drive dramatic advances in medicine," says Theise. This would include the possibility to use the interstitium as a new and powerful diagnostic tool by taking samples of this fluid and examining them.

Living cells instead of fixed slides

The results of the study are based on a newer technology, in which a tiny camera probe moves through the tissue and illuminates the environment with a laser. This allows microscopic views of living tissue instead of fixed ones.

Random discovery

The fluid-filled cavities were discovered by chance during a fall 2015 study on the spread of cancer. In this investigation, the new probe technology was used. While the bile duct of a patient was probed, the researchers came across the cavities. This discovery was the basis of the study work. (Vb)