arXiv · 1911.04835
Active interfacial dynamic transport of fluid in fibrous connective tissues and a hypothesis of interstitial fluid circulatory system
Abstract
Fluid in interstitial spaces accounts for ~20% of an adult body weight. Does it circulate around the body like vascular circulations besides a diffusive and short-ranged transport? This bold conjecture has been debated for decades. As a conventional physiological concept, interstitial space was the space between cells and a micron-sized space. Fluid in interstitial spaces is thought to be entrapped within interstitial matrix. However, our serial data have further defined an interfacial transport zone on a solid fiber of interstitial matrix. Within this fine space that is probably nanosized, fluid can transport along a fiber under a driving power. Since 2006, our imaging data from volunteers and cadavers have revealed a long-distance extravascular pathway for interstitial fluid flow, comprising four types of anatomic distributions at least. The framework of each extravascular pathway contains the longitudinally assembled and oriented fibers, working as a fibrous guiderail for fluid flow. Interestingly, our data showed that the movement of fluid in a fibrous pathway is in response to a dynamic driving source and named as dynamotaxis. By analysis of some representative studies and our experimental results, a hypothesis of interstitial fluid circulatory system is proposed.
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Li Hongyi, Yin Yajun, Yang Chongqing, Chen Min, Wang Fang, Ma Chao, Li Hua, Kong Yiya, Ji Fusui, Hu Jun. 2019-11-12. Active interfacial dynamic transport of fluid in fibrous connective tissues and a hypothesis of interstitial fluid circulatory system. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpr.12760
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