WEBVTT - Are We Still Discovering Human Organs?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff Works, Hey, brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Loring vogel bomb here. A recent discovery may be

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<v Speaker 1>seriously changing our understanding of human anatomy. Researchers, including two

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<v Speaker 1>doctors at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, announced

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<v Speaker 1>in an article published in Scientific Reports that they had

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<v Speaker 1>found a mesh like network of tissue throughout our bodies,

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<v Speaker 1>with cavities that allow fluid to move on this previously

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<v Speaker 1>unknown highway. This web of tissue is found underneath the skin,

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<v Speaker 1>surrounding blood vessels and lining the lungs, digestive organs, and

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<v Speaker 1>urinary system. Previously thought to be simply dense connective tissue,

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<v Speaker 1>the structure has now been identified as a fluid filled

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<v Speaker 1>web of collagen, collagen being a supportive protein found in

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<v Speaker 1>skin and other connective tissue, plus elastin connective tissue. It's

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<v Speaker 1>being called a new organ by some of the researchers involved.

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<v Speaker 1>This highway connects to the lymphatic system and it could

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<v Speaker 1>be away cancer cells. Spread is a process that science

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<v Speaker 1>has never fully understood the workings of, according to the

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<v Speaker 1>senior author of the report, Neil Teasa, if researchers gain

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<v Speaker 1>a better understanding of the spread of cancer, they might

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<v Speaker 1>be able to interrupt it. Teasa is a liver pathologist

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<v Speaker 1>at New York University School of Medicine. A press release

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<v Speaker 1>from the university said the discovery could add to our

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<v Speaker 1>understanding of all organs and most major diseases. So how

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<v Speaker 1>has this organ never been identified before? Doctors and scientists

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<v Speaker 1>had often looked at this connective tissue, but did so

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<v Speaker 1>by placing slices of it on slides under microscopes. In

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<v Speaker 1>the process, the tissue compressed and appeared solid, according to

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<v Speaker 1>the researchers. But in ten patroc Cybnias and David L. Carlocke,

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<v Speaker 1>clinical gastroenturologists at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, we're

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<v Speaker 1>using a new imaging technique to look at a patient's

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<v Speaker 1>bio duct. We spoke with Rebecca G. Wells, a professor

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<v Speaker 1>of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and one of

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<v Speaker 1>the authors of the current report. She said us that

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<v Speaker 1>this high tech endyscopy procedure involves inserting a tiny tube

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<v Speaker 1>into a bio duct and using a fluorescent substance to

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<v Speaker 1>illuminate the tissue. Allows you to look down into the

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<v Speaker 1>wall of the duct. She said, the researchers saw a

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<v Speaker 1>Lacey network like pattern, they didn't know what it was.

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<v Speaker 1>They expected to see a solid barrier of collagen. Neil

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<v Speaker 1>Tisa was called in. Wells noted he had no idea

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<v Speaker 1>what they were seeing either, but she says they quite

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<v Speaker 1>cleverly took biopsies in twelve succeeding surgeries and froze the

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<v Speaker 1>specimens to retain the water in the tissues, which preserves

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<v Speaker 1>the anatomy of the samples. The investigation led some to

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<v Speaker 1>describe the structure as a new organ. Wells herself does

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<v Speaker 1>not use the term, calling herself more conservative. However, the discovery,

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<v Speaker 1>she said, does suggest an unusual connection between different parts

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<v Speaker 1>of the body. It also may help explain the reason

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<v Speaker 1>some alternative therapies, such as acupuncture and rollfing work. Rollfing

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<v Speaker 1>is a type of deep tissue massage that practitioners say

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<v Speaker 1>improves health by restructuring the muscles and fascia, the tissue

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<v Speaker 1>that binds muscles together, and acupuncture has been shown to

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<v Speaker 1>be effective in some cases, but no one knows why.

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<v Speaker 1>According to Wells, a main function of the newly discovered

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<v Speaker 1>network may be to serve as a shock absorber in

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<v Speaker 1>the body. It's strong and elastic, and it's surrounds skin, blood, vessels,

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<v Speaker 1>and intestines. Tissues subject to a lot of mechanical forces.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of movement occurs as the heart pumps blood,

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<v Speaker 1>the lungs expand, and digestion occurs. Will says. The discovery

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<v Speaker 1>might also lead to a better understanding of fibrosis, the

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<v Speaker 1>toughening and scarring of connective tissue, often as a result

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<v Speaker 1>of injury. The tissue network may also serve as a

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<v Speaker 1>third space for fluid in the body. Doctors know that

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<v Speaker 1>fluid collects in the spaces around cells, but these spaces

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<v Speaker 1>are not enough to explain the swelling of tissues seen

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<v Speaker 1>in some diseases. Well says. But despite the headlines trumpeting

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<v Speaker 1>a new organ, some scientists have a more muted response.

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<v Speaker 1>Edward Pettis, assistant for us ARE in the Department of

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<v Speaker 1>Cell Biology at Emory University, said it's really cool, but

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<v Speaker 1>pointed out that it's just one study. He said, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a different way of looking at interstitial tissue, which may

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<v Speaker 1>be different than we thought, but it's not like we

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<v Speaker 1>have a complete understanding of it. No one's rewriting the textbook.

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<v Speaker 1>Yet today's episode was written by Stell Simonton and produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Clang. For more on this, and lots of

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<v Speaker 1>other surprisingly connective topics, visit our home planet, how Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Works dot com