Scientists have identified a new organ in the human body, which they hope could help them understand the spread of cancer within the body.
Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissues are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments that researchers have termed as "interstitium", reported The Independent.
These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, joined together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins.
To provide a highway for fluid to move around the body, the interconnected cells of the interstitium may therefore have the unfortunate side effect of spreading cancer around the body.
Understanding this newly discovered frontier in human anatomy could allow scientists to develop new tests for cancer.
The entire findings are published in the journal - Scientific Reports, the first to identify these spaces collectively as a new organ and try to understand their function.
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