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Scientists discover new organ in human bodies

rootabaga

Android Expert
Aug 11, 2014
2,929
8,048
Crazyville, CA
I looked first to see if there was a "health"-themed thread and, not finding one, thought this might be the best fit.

This is really fascinating stuff; it could lead to all manner of breakthroughs.

And the title may be a bit misleading, I'd imagine that many other warm-blooded animals have an interstitium as well.

Here's the first two paragraphs from the article (linked below):

Scientists said in a study published Tuesday that they may have stumbled on a previously unknown organ — one of the biggest in the human body and one that could significantly advance our understanding of cancer and many other diseases.

The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, suggests that a network of dense connective tissues and fluid-filled compartments called the interstitium is a full-fledged organ — that is, a group of tissues with a unique structure performing a specialized task, like the heart or the liver.



Interstitium: Scientists say they've discovered a new human organ
 
so.. they knew it was there... but did not know it was connected and preformed a unique function. they thought it was just water pockets?

And the title may be a bit misleading, I'd imagine that many other warm-blooded animals have an interstitium as well.

Relating to both of those points, the idea of the interstitium has been around a long time. Essentially - there is fluid inside the body that is not contained within organs or the circulatory system. The same applies to other animals too, but they don't run their own news sites.

The novel finding here is that this fluid doesn't always just slosh around the body, but at least in some cases is held by a delicate, pourous structure. Something akin to a sponge. They found these structures around organs that tend to be compressed - esentially squeezing the fluid out of the sponge like structures.

So it's not true to say that the interstitium has just been discovered, more that we just discovered that it is more complicated than we thought and might be worthy of being called an organ.
 
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