Dolphins Have a Mysterious Network of Veins That Could Be Key to Preventing the Bends
Inside the chests of dolphins and toothed whales there is an anatomical mystery: a maze of tiny, worm-like blood vessels called the “thoracic rete,” the purpose of which has long baffled scientists. Joy Reidenberg, an anatomist at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine, thinks she she’s figured out what it’s for. If she’s right, it could hold the key to developing a device that would be able to prevent the deadly condition that all divers fear: the bends.
Continue Reading https://www.smithsonianmag.com
Join the Discussion