You thought you knew all you needed to know about your body. But, you/we have another organ that's been hiding in plain sight.
It is a network of interconnected, fluid-filled sacs supported by meshwork, just beneath the skin's surface. This exists throughout the entire body and may affect the function of all other organs, most tissues, and most major diseases.
The sacs may prevent tissues and vessels from tearing. On the downside, this network is a river of moving fluid that might contribute to the spread of cancer.
Cells within these spaces change with age and could partially account for wrinkling of skin, stiffening of limbs, and progression of inflammatory diseases.
Until now this organ eluded researchers because in the lab, sacs lose their fluid, appearing like solid tissue under a microscope. The new discovery provides one more example that "we are fearfully and wonderfully made," and offers future possibilities for health care.
Said a researcher, "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."
Scientific Reports
WORLD magazine online
Jimmy
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