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Detection of the Primo Vessels in the Rodent Thoracic Lymphatic Ducts

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Abstract

Since Hippocrates described the anatomy of the blood and the lymphatic systems for the first time at BC400, these two vascular systems have been believed to be the only circulatory systems existing and operating in vertebrates. However, the oriental medicine that originates much prior to the Hippocrates era in the Western world has suggested the presence of a third neurovascular network that serves as a conduit for acupuncture meridian. While the controversies on the therapeutic efficacies of acupuncture have not been entirely resolved, a novel primo-vascular system has been discovered to be present on the surface of the internal organs and within the large vessels in the rat, rabbit, and other animals. The morphological and anatomical properties of this new primo-vascular system were originally characterized by a North Korean scientist, Dr. Bonghan Kim, and thus this primo-vascular system was named after him as Bonghan thread/duct. In this chapter, we will report our endeavor to study this primo-vessel present in the thoracic ducts of rodents.

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Correspondence to Young-Kwon Hong .

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Choi, I., Chung, HK., Hong, YK. (2012). Detection of the Primo Vessels in the Rodent Thoracic Lymphatic Ducts. In: Soh, KS., Kang, K., Harrison, D. (eds) The Primo Vascular System. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0601-3_17

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