Interstitium

New organ, previously missed by scientists, discovered within the human body

This is a discovery that scientists believe could alter the understanding of human

anatomy and potentially allow scientists to develop new tests for cancer.

It was hiding in plain sight and it is almost a Eureka moment for biologists.

Scientists have now identified a new human organ that has been termed 'interstitium', in

a discovery they hope could help them understand the spread of cancer within the body,

reports the Independent (UK) citing new analysis published in the journal Scientific

Reports.

Researchers now acknowledge that layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue

are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments called the “interstitium”.

The organ is a body wide network of interconnected, fluid-filled compartments

supported by a meshwork of strong, flexible proteins, says the Independent. These

compartments are found

 beneath the skin

 lining the gut

 lining of the lungs

 lining of the blood vessels

 linings of muscles

Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center medics Dr David Carr-Locke and Dr Petros

Benias were searching for signs of cancer in a patient's body when they came across

the interstitium during the inspection of the patient’s bile duct. The team of doctors

noticed cavities that did not match any previously known human anatomy, and

approached New York University pathologist Dr Neil Theise to ask for his expertise.

Freezing biopsy tissue taken from the bile ducts of 12 more patients enabled the team

to preserve the anatomy of their newly discovered structure.

The Independent cites the reason for the interstitium having previously gone

unnoticed despite being one of the largest organs in the human body thus: "The “fixing”

method for assembling medical microscope slides involves draining away fluid –

therefore destroying the organ’s structure. Instead of their true identity as body wide,

fluid-filled shock absorbers, the squashed cells had been overlooked and considered a

simple layer of connective tissue." Dr Theise is quoted by the Independent as

saying: “This fixation artefact of collapse has made a fluid-filled tissue type throughout

the body appear solid in biopsy slides for decades, and our results correct for this to

expand the anatomy of most tissues."

Researchers now believe that these linked up spaces actually provide a highway

for fluid to move around the body, the interconnected cells of the interstitium may,

therefore, have the unfortunate side effect of spreading cancer around the body.

Researchers now know that these newly discovered cavities actually join together to

form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins. The team behind the

discovery suggests the compartments may act as “shock absorber” that protect body

tissues from damage. The layer also drains into the lymphatic system – the network of

vessels transporting lymph, which is involved in the body’s immune response. Besides

their ability to cushion the body’s organs and protect them from harm, the researchers

found evidence that cancer cells from tumors could make their way via the interstitium

into the lymphatic system.

“This finding has potential to drive dramatic advances in medicine, including the

possibility that the direct sampling of interstitial fluid may become a powerful diagnostic
tool,” said Dr Theise, as quoted by the Independent. Here is hoping that understanding

this newly discovered frontier in human anatomy, scientists will now be empowered with

more useful information to develop new tests for cancer.

Date: Apr 05, 2018

Source: timesnownews.com

Summary

Interstitium new organ, discovered by Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center

medics Dr David Carr-Locke and Dr Petros Benias who were searching for signs of

cancer in a patient's body when they came across the interstitium during the inspection

of the patient’s bile duct , This is a discovery that scientists believe could alter the

understanding of human anatomy and potentially allow scientists to develop new tests

for cancer. This connective tissue is actually a series of fluid-filled compartments called

the “interstitium”. This organ is a body wide network of interconnected, fluid-filled

compartments supported by a meshwork of strong, flexible proteins, says the

Independent. These compartments can be found beneath the skin, lining the gut, lining

of the lungs, lining of the blood vessels, linings of muscles. The team behind the

discovery suggests the compartments may act as “shock absorbers” that protect body

tissues from damage. The layer also drains into the lymphatic system – the network of

vessels transporting lymph, which is involved in the body’s immune response. Besides

their ability to cushion the body’s organs and protect them from harm, the researchers

found evidence that cancer cells from tumours could make their way via the interstitium

into the lymphatic system. Dr Theise said, This finding has potential to drive dramatic

advances in medicine, including the possibility that the direct sampling of interstitial fluid

may become a powerful diagnostic tool.

Reaction

My reaction about this human body discovery is this connective tissue is actually a

series of fluid-filled compartments called the “interstitium”. These linked up spaces

actually provide a highway for fluid to move around the body, the interconnected cells of

the interstitium may, therefore, have the unfortunate side effect of spreading cancer

around the body. These newly discovered cavities actually join together to form a

network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins. It also acts as “shock

absorbers” that protect body tissues from damage. The layer also drains into the

lymphatic system – the network of vessels transporting lymph, which is involved in the

body’s immune response. Besides their ability to cushion the body’s organs and protect

them from harm, the researchers found evidence that cancer cells from tumors could

make their way via the interstitium into the lymphatic system.
 Interstitium

New organ, previously missed by scientists, discovered within the human body

In partial fulfillment of the project in Bio Sci

Submitted by:

Mary Ann Dimco

Submitted to:

Dr. Jessica Barela

Date: February 15, 2019