Scientists Discover New Type of Blood Vessels

German scientists have proven that bones contain a whole system of blood vessels.

Matthias Gunzer  and other researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen have made the discovery. With the help of X-ray and microscopes, the scientists observed how stained blood cells moved in the bodies of rodents. As it turns out, the cells moved even through hard outer bone shell. The process was carried out through special canals dubbed transcortical vessels.

Scientists have long suspected that such a system existed and have successfully used it. When a patient needs an urgent injection of medication but doctors cannot find a vein, the injection is being made directly into the bone with the medication spreading through the whole body. Doctors could not explain this phenomenon before but the discovery of transcortical vessels explained everything. Now scientists will begin looking into other ways of using this knowledge to help real patients.