"Researchers Find New “Organ” Missed By Gold Standard Methods For Visualizing Anatomy And Disease"
Researchers have identified a previously unknown feature of human anatomy with implications for the function of all organs, most tissues and the mechanisms of most major diseases. Published today in Scientific Reports, the new study reveals that layers of the body long thought to be dense, connective tissues are instead interconnected, fluid-filled compartments. The finding that this layer is a highway of moving fluid may explain why cancer that invades it becomes much more likely to spread. The researchers say that no one saw these spaces before because of the medical field's dependence on the examination of fixed tissue on microscope slides, believed to offer the most accurate view of biological reality. The study findings are based on newer technology called probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy, which combines the slender camera-toting probe traditionally snaked down the throat to view the insides of organs with a laser that lights up tissues, and sensors that analyze the reflected fluorescent patterns. One of the study authors is Michael Wayne, associate clinical professor of surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
- Michael G. Wayne, DO, Associate Clinical Professor, Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine
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