The Third Circulatory System
The fleshy comb on a cockerel’s head swells to attract females. It is full of hyaluronan, a very large molecule and so perfect for swelling vessels.
It is a polysaccharide and was originally named hyaluronic acid, and was changed to hyaluronan to conform to the nomenclature for polysaccharides.
Still you see it written hyaluronic acid on adverts for skin products and for joints - maybe because hi-al-ur-on-ic acid, is easier to pronounce than hi-al-ur-o-nan.
We have about 15g (half an ounce) of hyaluranon in our bodies. Most of it is in our eyeballs and under our skin, and acts as a lubricant.
It degrades naturally, and we replace about a third of it daily.
It’s a gooey substance that holds water.
Two Circulatory Systems
It has been known for a long time that there are two circulatory systems - the lymphatic system that drains fluids from tissues, and the cardiovascular system that transports blood.
It has also been known for a long time that we have a web of fibres called the fascia beneath the skin. The fascia is tied at some points - the wrist, the elbow, etc. but is otherwise free to move - like a body stocking.
It has also been known for a long time that it is also wrapped around the organs. And in coordination with the skeleton, it supports the body and keeps the organs in place.
Recently however, researchers noticed that the ink in tattoos crossed between the skin and the fascia. Until then it was thought that ink could not cross the space between them.
From this discovery, researchers found a new network. It runs around the body between the skin and the fascia and around organs.
The Interstitium
It is a third circulatory system, now named the interstitium. It is built on a net of collagen fibres with hyaluranon gel between them.
Fluids and other material, including metastatic cancer cells, circulate through the gel. Researchers have been tracking the routes that these materials take, and have discovered a correspondence with the meridians that connect acupuncture points, as described in traditional Chinese medicine.