Dutch doctors discover new organ in human body

Dutch specialists have discovered a new organ in the human body that should be taken into account when using radiotherapy to treat cancer.

Oncologists from the Netherlands have discovered new glands in the human face that they have named tubular glands. The study was published in the journal Radiotherapy and Oncology.

Doctors have discovered new glands on the human face. (Illustration photo).

To learn more about cancer processes in the head and neck, researchers used radioactive glucose scans to 'highlight' certain areas of the body. They used positron emission tomography and computed tomography.

Oncologists scanned about 100 patients and cadavers. To their surprise, certain areas of the face continued to glow. At first, they thought it was some kind of anomaly, but further investigation revealed that they were dealing with an entirely new part of the human body.

The ducts are involved in saliva production in the mouth. The new organs are about the same size as the three main salivary glands. However, they are located on either side of the palate.

The finding fits into the team's main goal of learning more about cancer. Radiation therapy to kill cancer cells can cause complications with salivary glands, including newly discovered ones. Doctors will have to avoid targeting this new part of the body.

It was previously believed that the salivary or mucous glands in the nasopharynx were much smaller and spread evenly across the mucosa.