A NEW BODY ORGAN – RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE

MEET YOUR INTERSTITIUM

Hello everyone and Welcome to FACTUAL FRIDAY. Today’s Blog is all about a previously unknown major organ recently discovered in the human body.

Known as the INTERSTITIUM, this structure is a macroscopic and fluid-filled space that lies within and between body tissues.

Now, we already knew that this “interstitial space” existed in the human body. It’s found just below the skin and also in the respiratory, digestive and urinary systems.

Also, remember that more than two-thirds – roughly 70 percent — of the human body is water. Most of that water is contained inside body cells. About 20 percent, however, is contained in the interstitial, a Latin word which literally means “between the other spaces.”

But, here’s what we didn’t know about this interstitial space.  Researchers now believe that this network of liquid spaces and pockets is actually one single interconnected organ that’s as distinct as our lungs, heart or liver. And, as a full-fledged organ, the tissues that form the interstitium have a unique structure that perform a specialized task.

So, just what is this task? Well, it looks like this structure works as a type of shock absorber, which protects our delicate vital organs from damage and trauma.

For example, the interstitium is found around tissues of the body that are subject to cycles of compression and distention.  This includes the digestive tract, the heart and the lungs, which force matter, blood and air through the tissues.

The interstitium wraps itself around these organs and apparently keeps these organs from bumping into and, perhaps damaging or irritating, other nearby organs as they contract and expand.

But, for cancer patients and survivors like me, here’s the really fascinating news.

The interstitium, which is supported by a network of strong and flexible connective tissues, collagen bundles and proteins, also contains the fluid that is the source of lymph. This fluid drains to the lymph nodes, which in turn activate our immune system and dispatch our white blood cells throughout our body to fight disease and infection.

Because of this connection between the interstitial fluid and our lymph and immune systems, this potential new organ may be able to show us how cancer and other diseases spread through the body.

For instance, if a cancer cell enters the interstitium, it’s been described as being on a “water slide.” Once it gets in, the fluid will swiftly move it into the lymphatic system where the cell can travel to other parts of the body, eventually multiplying and metastasizing.

Focusing on this connection also could be the key to finding highly effective treatments for cancer.

And, it opens the door to dramatic advances in medicine, in which direct sampling of interstitial fluid may become a powerful diagnostic tool not just for cancer, but for other illnesses and conditions like edema and fibrosis as well.

Now, the interstitium has not yet been officially recognized by the broader scientific community as a new organ. If the findings of this groundbreaking research are accepted, however, the interstitium would become the body’s 80^th organ – which is very cool, indeed!

Either way, this research is poised to create a “significant reassessment of anatomy affecting every organ of the body,” according to research team member, Neil D. Theise.

And, for those of us engaged in our own battle with cancer, it promises hope and gives us another important tool we can add to our war chest.

Thanks again for joining me everyone. Until next time, stay in GOOD HEALTH and . . .

TAKE THE COURSE AND TAKE CHARGE!