NEW A new organ identified in the human body

After millennia of studying human anatomy, Dutch researchers have identified a new organ in the human body. The new organ was identified while the research team was busy with something else entirely.

While they wanted to unravel the mysteries of prostate cancer, scientists found that their work has a most unexpected result: they discovered an organ on the completely opposite side of the body!

The new organ is actually a gland, to which scientists have already given a name: the tubal salivary gland. This gland is located behind the nose, near where the nasal cavity and throat meet, just behind the face. The researchers hypothesize that the newly discovered gland is responsible for moistening the upper part of the throat, behind the nose and mouth.

The discovery was made possible because the patients included in the research were injected with a type of glucose that highlights tumors, making them glow on scans. The glow, due to a protein, normally highlights cells affected by prostate cancer, according to the study rtv.net.

To the complete surprise of the researchers, during the tests, spots from the human head also began to glow, and thus the tubal salivary gland was found. Subsequent tests revealed the same gland in another hundred patients, at which point it was clear to scientists: all humans have this gland.

Three types of salivary glands

Until now, anatomy books listed three types of salivary glands. The first gland is near the ears, the second, under the jaw, and the third, under the tongue.

The salivary glands produce a total of about one liter of saliva per day, which is useful for “a lot of things that make us enjoy life”, says surgeon and researcher Matthijs Valstar.

The identification of the new gland is a surprise to everyone in the medical world. Basically, no one expected that now, in the 21st century, something new would be discovered in the human body, about which we thought we knew… almost everything.

The study that led to the discovery was done at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, and its results were published in Radiotherapy and Oncology.