Scientists have found new organs in the connective tissue of the body, including the dermis of the skin. These organs are composed of spaces filled with liquid, as shown in the light pink layer at the bottom of the picture above. Eric V.Grave/Getty) With all the knowledge about human anatomy, you can't expect doctors to find a new body part in this era. But now, researchers say they have done it: they have found a spatial network full of liquid in the tissue, which they have never seen before.

These liquid-filled spaces exist in the connective tissue of the whole body, including under the skin surface; Found in digestive tract, lung and urinary system and surrounding muscles, according to a new study published in the journal Science Report today (March 27th), these findings are introduced in detail.

Previously, researchers thought that these tissue layers were a dense collagen "wall"-a strong structural protein found in connective tissue. However, Dr Neil Tess, a professor of pathology at new york University's Langone School of Medicine, said that the new findings revealed that this tissue was more like an "open, liquid-filled highway" than a "wall". Tess said that these tissues contain interconnected fluid-filled spaces supported by a thick grid of collagen "bundles". [1 1 body parts cultured in laboratory]

Researchers say that these liquid-filled spaces have been missed for decades because they have not appeared on the standard microscope slides used by researchers to peek into the cell world. When scientists prepare tissue samples for these slides, they treat the samples with chemicals, slice them and dye them to highlight key features. However, this fixation process will discharge liquid, which will lead to the collapse of the newly discovered space full of liquid. "kdspe", "kdspe" and "kdspe" are images of skin surface matrix. Researchers say that this organ is a connected and liquid-filled spatial network supported by a powerful and flexible protein grid. (Illustrated by Jill Gregory. Printed with the permission of Mount Sinai Health System and CC-BY-ND.

Instead of using this kind of slide, the researchers discovered these liquid-filled spaces through a new imaging technology, which enabled them to examine living tissues at the microscopic level.

Researchers call this liquid-filled spatial network organ matrix. However, this is an unofficial difference; "In order for a body part to officially become an organ, as more researchers study it, it is necessary to reach an understanding around this idea," Tess told Life Science. He added that the existence of these liquid-filled spaces should also be confirmed by other research groups. Except for ...

In addition to the official name, these findings may have an impact on many medical fields, including cancer research. For example, these findings seem to explain why cancer tumors that invade this tissue spread to lymph nodes. According to the researchers, this is because these liquid-filled spaces are the source of a liquid called lymph, which flows into the lymphatic system. Lymphatic fluid is a liquid containing anti-infective white blood cells. )

Is it a new organ? The human body has about 60% water. About two-thirds of water exists in cells, but the other one-third is outside cells, which is the so-called "interstitial" liquid. Tess said that although researchers have known that there is liquid between single cells, the concept of a larger, connected matrix (with a space filled with liquid) is only vaguely described in the literature. He said that this new study expanded the concept of matrix by showing these fluid-filled structural spaces in tissues, which was the first study to define matrix as its own organ. This new research is based on the use of a relatively new technology called "focused laser endoscope based on probe" or pCLE. The tool uses an endoscope, a laser and a sensor to analyze the reflected fluorescence pattern and provide researchers with a microscopic view of living tissue.

As early as 20 15, two research authors-Dr. david cal Locke and Dr. Petros Benias, both of whom were in Beth Israel Medical Center in Mount Sinai, new york, used this technique when they saw something unusual when they were checking whether there was cancer spreading in the bile duct of patients. It is reported that they found a series of interconnected cavities in the tissue layer, which did not match any known anatomical structure. When pathologists made slides with this tissue, the cavity disappeared-it was later discovered that this was a secret of the slide making process.

In the new study, researchers applied pCLE to cancer patients undergoing pancreatectomy and bile duct resection for the first time. Imaging technology does show the space filled with liquid in connective tissue. When tissue samples are taken out of the body, they are quickly frozen, keeping the liquid-filled space open so that researchers can see them under the microscope.

Later, researchers found the same liquid-filled space in other connective tissue samples taken from other parts of the body. Tess said that among people without cancer, "the more tissue I see, the more I realize that it is everywhere," he said.

Researchers believe that a liquid-filled space can act as a shock absorber and protect tissues in daily functions, the researchers said.

They noticed that there may already be a lot of known information about this liquid-filled space; It's just that researchers "don't know what they're looking at." In fact, the researchers plan to review the scientific literature "What do we know about this body part, but we don't know what we know," Tess said.

The idea put forward in the new problem research seems to be "a brand-new concept", said Dr. Michael Nathan, head of the Department of Digestive Diseases at Yale University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the research. Judging from the evidence they provided, they may be right, "Nathan told Life Science.

Nathan said that in the past, doctors had a vague understanding of stroma. They know that this is a space with liquid outside the cell, but no one has ever fully explained what this means. He said the new study was "well done" and tried to define it.

This finding is consistent with the results observed by Neisensen and his colleagues in a study published on 20 1 1. At that time, Nathanson and his colleagues observed a dark optical fiber network, but they could not know exactly what it was. Nathanson said, "I'm glad they confirmed our impression of the existence of this network and were able to define it." The new discovery of kdspe "kdsps" "allows us to ask all kinds of questions that we didn't even know before," nathanson said. For example, will this area change in the disease or play a role in the driving force of the disease, he said.

Editor's Note: This article was updated at 1 1:20 am EST, including comments by Dr. Michael nathanson.

This is an original article about life science.