Overlooked Organ-Like Structure in Human Body Found to Have Unique Functions

Scientists report on their identification of a previously undetected, but widespread, structural feature in the human body that could play a key role in how tissues and organs function, and also impact on disease mechanisms and spread. This layer of interconnected, fluid-filled compartments, dubbed the interstitium, is supported by collagen bundles and elastin, is compressible and distensible, and appears to act as a shock-absorbing buffer around organs and tissues as they stretch, flex, and com