{"id":26408,"date":"2022-12-29T02:12:43","date_gmt":"2022-12-29T02:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/29\/scientists-discover-new-organ-hidden-within-your-face\/"},"modified":"2022-12-29T02:12:43","modified_gmt":"2022-12-29T02:12:43","slug":"scientists-discover-new-organ-hidden-within-your-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/29\/scientists-discover-new-organ-hidden-within-your-face\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Discover \u2018New\u2019 Organ Hidden Within Your Face"},"content":{"rendered":"

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(Credit: Valstar et al\/Radiotherapy and Oncology)<\/small><\/center>You\u2019d think that existing exclusively within the human body would give way to a complete knowledge of the organs hidden within. Instead, we\u2019re constantly discovering new parts of the weird and glorious biological machine we each call home. The latest in these discoveries are the \u201ctubarial glands,\u201d a pair of small organs responsible for producing saliva.<\/p>\n

Oncologists from the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam were conducting cancer research earlier this year when they happened upon the \u201cnew\u201d glands. Radiation oncologist Wouter Vogel, oral and maxillofacial surgeon Matthijs Valstar, and their team have been working to improve the research community\u2019s understanding of cancers occurring in the head and neck. They were using positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scans\u2014known for helping to track metastasizing prostate cancer\u2014to study patients\u2019 mouth, throat, and other cancers when the scans\u2019 radioactive glucose lit up an unfamiliar part of the face.<\/p>\n

Scan after scan, the same part of the patients\u2019 faces continued to glow. Exactly 100 consecutive patients and cadavers possessed the same strange bright spot, prompting Vogel and Valstar to investigate. Contrary to what they expected, the spot wasn\u2019t an anomaly\u2014it was a whole new organ<\/a> consisting of two salivary glands.<\/p>\n

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(Credit: Valstar et al\/Radiotherapy and Oncology)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The team has dubbed the glands \u201ctubarial glands\u201d for their location within the body. They\u2019re about the same size as the body\u2019s three main salivary glands but sit on either side of the nasopharynx, which connects the nasal passages to the rest of the human body\u2019s respiratory system. Most salivary and mucous glands within the nasopharynx are microscopic in size, which explains Vogel\u2019s and Valstar\u2019s surprise during the initial PET\/CT scans.<\/p>\n

The discovery is highly relevant to the team\u2019s main oncological mission. Radiotherapy, which is used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors, can trigger complications within salivary glands. \u201cPatients may have trouble eating, swallowing, or speaking, which can be a real burden,\u201d Vogel said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Researchers at University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) subsequently studied 723 cancer patients and found that increased radiotherapy correlated with increased salivary gland issues, including with the newly-discovered tubarial glands. As a result, radiotherapists will need to avoid delivering radiation to this portion of the body as they do with more familiar salivary glands.<\/p>\n

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