12-04-2021, 05:58 PM
The interstitium, scientists found, is under our skin and between our organs. Understanding it may eventually help treat disease.
![[Image: 01-human-tissue-study-00.jpg?w=795&h=795]](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/0231b41d-ea4e-4f60-a40d-a027e97abf3b/01-human-tissue-study-00.jpg?w=795&h=795)
Lurking just under your skin might be a new organ only now identified for the first time, say a team of scientists.
In a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from New York University's School of Medicine say they have found a new organ they're calling the "interstitium."
It's nearly everywhere—just below the skin's surface, surrounding arteries and veins, casing the fibrous tissue between muscles, and lining our digestive tracts, lungs, and urinary systems.
It looks like a mesh. The interstitium is a layer of fluid-filled compartments strung together in a web of collagen and a flexible protein called elastin. Previously, scientists thought the layer was simply dense connective tissue.
The organ has seemingly been hidden in plain sight, and scientists say they missed it because of the way tissue is studied. Before being placed under a microscope, samples are thinly sliced and treated with chemicals that allow researchers to identify key components more easily. While the process is helpful for more easily spotting details, it drains fluid from the sample.
- More -
Lurking just under your skin might be a new organ only now identified for the first time, say a team of scientists.
In a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from New York University's School of Medicine say they have found a new organ they're calling the "interstitium."
It's nearly everywhere—just below the skin's surface, surrounding arteries and veins, casing the fibrous tissue between muscles, and lining our digestive tracts, lungs, and urinary systems.
It looks like a mesh. The interstitium is a layer of fluid-filled compartments strung together in a web of collagen and a flexible protein called elastin. Previously, scientists thought the layer was simply dense connective tissue.
The organ has seemingly been hidden in plain sight, and scientists say they missed it because of the way tissue is studied. Before being placed under a microscope, samples are thinly sliced and treated with chemicals that allow researchers to identify key components more easily. While the process is helpful for more easily spotting details, it drains fluid from the sample.
- More -