Scientists report previously-unrecognised anatomical structure in the human body

Researchers from New York University School of Medicine have reported a previously unrecognised structure in the human body which may have implications in the mechanisms of major diseases.

The study published in Scientific reports reveals that layers below the skin’s surface, which were long thought to be dense, connective tissues are instead interconnected, fluid-filled compartments.

“This series of spaces, supported by a meshwork of strong (collagen) and flexible (elastin) connective tissue proteins, may act like shock absorbers that keep tissues from tearing as organs, muscles, and vessels squeeze, pump, and pulse as part of daily function,” says a release from New York University.

How did they make the new discovery?

The scientists used Confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE), which provides real-time images of human tissues, to find these compartments.

“Since we are not sure what the exact function of this structure, and about nerve and blood supply to these compartments, it is too early to call them an organ,” says Dr (Lt. Col) T Vijaya Sagar, professor and head of the anatomy department at Sri Ramachandra Medical college and Research Institute, Chennai.

By freezing the biopsy tissue, the researchers preserved the structure and demonstrated that this new part was supported by a complex network of thick collagen bundles. “We can call it an interstitial space with connective tissue. The new report has well defined the structure using the latest modified tissue processing techniques,” says Dr. Rema Devi, professor and head of the anatomy department at PIMS, Puducherry.

The researchers observed these structures in many tissues of the body like gastrointestinal tract, urinary bladder, skin and the lungs.

How is this new find helpful?

The report says that “these anatomic structures may be important in cancer metastasis, edema, fibrosis, and mechanical functioning of many or all tissues and organs.”

“This fixation artifact 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,” says co-senior author Neil D. Theise, professor in the Department of Pathology at NYU Langone Health in a release. “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.”