the.com/interstitium
The body's secret plumbing, hiding in plain sight for centuries of anatomy class.
means A network of fluid-filled spaces found between and within tissues throughout the body, now considered a distinct structure rather than just gaps left over from dissection.
from Built from the Latin 'inter-' (between) plus 'sistere' (to stand, to set), by way of 'interstitium' meaning simply 'a small space between things.' The word itself is old and humble — anatomists have used 'interstitial' for ages to describe filler tissue between the 'real' parts. The twist is recent: in 2018 researchers argued these interstitial spaces form an interconnected, fluid-carrying network worth naming as its own structure, and the plain old Latin leftover word got a sudden promotion.
- discovery year
- formally described only in 2018
- what it is
- fluid-filled spaces between tissues, acting as shock absorber
- size claim
- some call it the body's largest organ, by volume
- found via
- a living biopsy technique that preserved it unsquished