The discovery of blood vessels could advance our knowledge about osteoporosis

Researchers from Duisburg-Essen University, Germany, have discovered new blood vessels in the long bones of mice, as well as new similar vessels in human long bones.

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The vessels, which scientists have called "trans-cortical vessels" (CTVs), have been found to come from the bone marrow and cross the cortical bone perpendicularly along the stem and connect to the periosteal circulation.

The discovery, which was recently published in the journal Metabolism of nature, may help improve the understanding of bone diseases such as osteoporosis and immune system disorders.

Scientists already knew that there are some blood vessels at the end of the bones or halfway to them, but little is known about how the blood gets in and leaves the bones long.

Given this limited knowledge, Matthias Gunzer and his colleagues decided to study the distribution of blood vessels in the long bones of mice using techniques recently developed or never used in this field.

Analysis of the lower leg bone using thin-film fluorescence microscopy and X-ray microscopy showed that VCVs crossed the bone stem, covering the entire bone and constituting the largest bone. part of the blood supply of the bone.

It's totally crazy, there are still things to discover about human anatomy – we've discovered blood vessels in a new place we did not know before. "

Matthias Gunzer, author of the study

The study also revealed that humans have vessels that resemble TCVs in the femur. The badysis of tiny samples taken from the neck of the human femur has allowed to identify vessels structurally similar to those of the mouse model (although much wider than these).

Taken together, these data suggest that long human bones, at least in some areas, also possess a TCV system that directly connects the vascular system of BM to the peripheral circulation via the cortical bone. "

Gunzer and colleagues point out that diseases that affect bone physiology are known to cause substantial changes in TCV numbers.

"Since major bone diseases are badociated with alterations in the TCV system, new research opportunities that further characterize the role of TCVs in skeletal biology and disease may be considered."