The lymph duct to the brain was only discovered in 2017. Prior to that, we had no idea how the brain clears waste and fights infections.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/brain-c...
Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
101–110 of 215 posts
Re: Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I've suspected for some time that medicine is actually closer to the dark ages than we like to think it is What does that even mean? Nobody's claiming that modern medicine is anywhere close to perfect but the "dark ages" medicine was Humorism, blood letting and faith healing. Surgeons didn't start washing their hands before childbirth until the 19th century. It's really weird to look back at the mind-boggling progr…
Yes, we've made some great leaps and they shouldn't be discounted, but neural-science is still in its infancy. We still don't know the exact mechanism of action of many commonly prescribed psychoactive medications. We know they work because, unlike in the past, we conduct rigorous studies, but we can only theorise as to why the work and why they don't have the same effect in all patients. This has real implications f…
What still amazes me is the placebo effect. That is just pure mind-blowing-ness.
Re: Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
#103It seems almost unbelievable that in this day and age we could have missed something like this. In my opinion, it put modern medicine into perspective. I've suspected for some time that medicine is actually closer to the dark ages than we like to think it is, and this report seems like a good validation of that notion.
> I've suspected for some time that medicine is actually closer to the dark ages than we like to think it is What does that even mean? Nobody's claiming that modern medicine is anywhere close to perfect but the "dark ages" medicine was Humorism, blood letting and faith healing. Surgeons didn't start washing their hands before childbirth until the 19th century. It's really weird to look back at the mind-boggling progr…
You don't have to look far in health policy to see the lunacy of modern medicine.
Using nuclear radiation to "cure" cancer. Giving patients highly addictive narcotics for pain relief. Giving patients broad-spectrum antibiotics. And don't get me started on the insanity of current events, with mass over-use of disinfectants, conflicting and dubious public health guidelines (Covid 19 spreads 3M in Europe but only 6ft. in the USA, N95 masks don't prevent infection but surgical masks work great, viruses don't spread while sitting but spread while standing in a restaurant). Dark ages? No. But I can see the parallels.
Re: Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
#104Is it just me, or shall we cue in the pyaneal gland from Reanimator, the movie?
Re: Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
#105I find this weirdly amazing, as to this day I was reading some medical news and documentaries where it was said that entire human bodies were sliced by millimetre slices. So, somehow I always imagined that each part of body and tissue is 100% known and that only left is to find out what are inner workings on the nano-meter scale, deep molecular levels or genetic level. But in 2018 there was a similar news about Inter…
That we still find new structures within our own bodies should be deeply troubling to anyone in the medical sciences. I for one would be deeply ashamed if I suddenly found that bytes had a ninth bit we never suspected was there in the first place.
Of course it would be embarrassing to discover a ninth bit; humans invented, created, and placed the other 8 bits, along with the entire computing infrastructure around them.
Humans did not invent the human body, so it's not embarrassing to discover something new--it's exciting. That's the whole point of science. Medical researchers certainly know that they still have a ton to learn about the human body.
Re: Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
#106NYT's title is a bit more cautious: >Doctors May Have Found Secretive New Organs in the Center of Your Head https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/19/health/saliva-glands-new-... >Dr. Alvand Hassankhani, a radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, said he was hesitant to label the structures “new organs.” In addition to the three pairs of known large salivary glands, some 1,000 minor salivary glands are sprinkled acros…
I don't think either title is very useful.
"Doctors identify new salivary organ".... maybe? Then I wouldn't have to open their article and I can go on my merry way. Big ups for science, thumbs down for click bait.
Re: Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
#107I remember the cadaver labs during the school days. Really hard to spot certain (save for the really large organs which are obvious) unless you know what it is you’re looking for. Sometimes an illustration tells you it should be there but the actual structure is... underwhelming or barely visible/damaged from years of specimen abuse. Can see how things like this can be missed.
This is it. Most structures just look like meat.
It's easy to spot them on a 3D render where they are bright yellow. In real life, it's just different textures of meat with slightly different hues.
Re: Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Imagine the following. Here's the spectrum of medical knowledge: ----------------------------------------- Here's where we were in the dark ages: --|-------------------------------------- Here's where we are now: -------|--------------------------------- Here's where people like to think we are: ------------------|---------------------- In this scenario it seems like what you're saying and what your parent said are b…
People can only see progress and have no idea where we actually are until they look back in retrospect, so I think it's more accurate to say: Here's where we were in the dark ages: -|--------------------------------------- Here's where we are now: ---|------------------------------------- Here's where people thought we were in the dark ages: ----------------------------|------------ Here's where people like to think…
Chuck Klosterman's book "But What If We're Wrong: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past" examines this phenomenon, and while its difficult to make predictions (that's one of the takeaways) it's a terrific lens to look at both the present and the past.
(One of my favorite chapters is imagining 1000 years into the future, where rock and roll is basically only remembered for one artist, who might that be? And why it won't be Elvis or the Beatles.)
Re: Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I've suspected for some time that medicine is actually closer to the dark ages than we like to think it is What does that even mean? Nobody's claiming that modern medicine is anywhere close to perfect but the "dark ages" medicine was Humorism, blood letting and faith healing. Surgeons didn't start washing their hands before childbirth until the 19th century. It's really weird to look back at the mind-boggling progr…
I think you're being a little mean to the dark ages. Galen was a pretty accomplished medical researcher, and Roman-era medical implements were quite sophisticated, and were well-established by the time of the dark ages. By the late dark ages, we also saw a lot of modern medical techniques coming in from the Middle East. There's this stereotype of people being filthy, ignorant, and dumb, but it's not really true. And…
> Galen was a pretty accomplished medical researcher, and Roman-era medical implements were quite sophisticated, and were well-established by the time of the dark ages.
Were those implements actually practiced throughout the dark ages or did they go the way of the Roman road networks?
When people talk of the dark ages they're usually talking of post-Roman Western Europe rather than Asia or the Middle East. I'm not sure if a Bohemian peasant living in 1000 AD would've benefited much from Islamic medicine advancements.
Re: Researchers discover new salivary glands in the human head
#110> The study was small, and examined a limited patient population Curious if this is present in all humans or a local evolution.
They examined 100 patients and two brains and it appeared in all of them. There are no instances of a new organ appearing in a local human population.
Some vestigial structures are missing on some people.
For example the little muscles at the point of the ears (Darwin's tubercle). It has been documented to be present in about 10.5% of the Spanish adult population, 40% of Indian adults, and 58% of Swedish school children.