12-04-2021, 06:10 PM
Scientists discover ‘new organ’ hiding in plain sight
![[Image: shutterstock_524547064.jpg?quality=90&strip=all]](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/shutterstock_524547064.jpg?quality=90&strip=all)
Scientists say they’ve discovered a new organ — possibly the human body’s largest — and it was hiding in plain sight, according to a new study.
The so-called interstitium is an interconnected system of tiny fluid-filled cavities throughout the entire body that acts as a “highway” for our internal water supply, study co-author Dr. Neil Theise told LiveScience.com.
The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports.
The human body is 60 percent water, and while two-thirds of that liquid remains inside cells, the remaining water — called interstitial fluid — is free to move throughout cavities inside the body.
Scientists had not previously shown that there was a unified system for moving that water, because they “didn’t know what they were looking at,” Theise told LiveScience.com.
The interstitium exists within connective tissue, beneath the skin and surrounding several other organs and could be considered the body’s largest organ, researchers said.
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The so-called interstitium is an interconnected system of tiny fluid-filled cavities throughout the entire body that acts as a “highway” for our internal water supply, study co-author Dr. Neil Theise told LiveScience.com.
The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports.
The human body is 60 percent water, and while two-thirds of that liquid remains inside cells, the remaining water — called interstitial fluid — is free to move throughout cavities inside the body.
Scientists had not previously shown that there was a unified system for moving that water, because they “didn’t know what they were looking at,” Theise told LiveScience.com.
The interstitium exists within connective tissue, beneath the skin and surrounding several other organs and could be considered the body’s largest organ, researchers said.
- More -