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Landmark Article Supports Osteopathic Medicine

Published/Copyright: November 1, 2015
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Journal of Osteopathic Medicine
From the journal Journal of Osteopathic Medicine Volume 115 Issue 11

To the Editor:

On June 1, 2015, Nature published a landmark article titled “Structural and Functional Features of Central Nervous System Lymphatic Vessels” by Louveau et al.1 The authors used high-power microscopy to discover functioning lymphatic vessels lining the dural sinuses in mice, which had not been described before.1 No one has been able to identify structures that could support the claim that the central nervous system has lymphatics. Now we have evidence.

This amazing discovery will transform several fields of science and medicine—for example, parts of the fields of anatomy, neuroimmunology, and neuroscience. Textbook chapters will have to be rewritten.

Most obviously, their discovery helps to validate, in some ways, what osteopathic physicians have been saying for more than a century. The second edition of Foundations for Osteopathic Medicine states that “Osteopathic manipulative treatment in the head region is based on anatomy and physiologic function of the neurologic, vascular, muscular, articular, and lymphatic systems.”2 Now is the time for osteopathic medicine to blossom and flourish. I am pleased that hard basic science has provided evidence for what osteopathic physicians have been doing clinically since the time of Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO. The osteopathic medical profession should take a moment to read this article.1

Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lynchburg, Virginia

References

1. Louveau A ,SmirnovI,KeyesTJ,et al.. Structural and functional features of central nervous system lymphatic vessels [published online June 1, 2015]. Nature. 2015;523(7560):337-341. doi:10.1038/nature14432.10.1038/nature14432Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

2. Scott RA ,KucheraML,PattersonJJ. Orthopedics. In: WardRC, executive ed.Foundations for Osteopathic Medicine.2nd ed.Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins;2003:484.Search in Google Scholar
Published Online: 2015-11-01
Published in Print: 2015-11-01

© 2015 American Osteopathic Association

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Articles in the same Issue

  1. SURF
  2. Development of Peer Tutoring Services to Support Osteopathic Medical Students’ Academic Success
  3. EDITORIAL
  4. Utility of Evidence-Based Medicine in the Medical Profession
  5. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
  6. Landmark Article Supports Osteopathic Medicine
  7. Correction
  8. Correction
  9. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
  10. Feasibility of Using Ultrasonography to Establish Relationships Among Sacral Base Position, Sacral Sulcus Depth, Body Mass Index, and Sex
  11. Incidence of Somatic Dysfunction in Healthy Newborns
  12. BRIEF REPORT
  13. Pigmented Skin Lesion Biopsies After Computer-Aided Multispectral Digital Skin Lesion Analysis
  14. EVIDENCE-BASED CLINICAL REVIEW
  15. Achilles Tendon Disorders
  16. MEDICAL EDUCATION
  17. Learning With Reflection: Practices in an Osteopathic Surgery Clinical Clerkship Through an Online Module
  18. CLINICAL IMAGES
  19. Killian-Jamieson Diverticulum
https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2015.134
Creative Commons
BY-NC-ND 4.0

Articles in the same Issue

  1. SURF
  2. Development of Peer Tutoring Services to Support Osteopathic Medical Students’ Academic Success
  3. EDITORIAL
  4. Utility of Evidence-Based Medicine in the Medical Profession
  5. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
  6. Landmark Article Supports Osteopathic Medicine
  7. Correction
  8. Correction
  9. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
  10. Feasibility of Using Ultrasonography to Establish Relationships Among Sacral Base Position, Sacral Sulcus Depth, Body Mass Index, and Sex
  11. Incidence of Somatic Dysfunction in Healthy Newborns
  12. BRIEF REPORT
  13. Pigmented Skin Lesion Biopsies After Computer-Aided Multispectral Digital Skin Lesion Analysis
  14. EVIDENCE-BASED CLINICAL REVIEW
  15. Achilles Tendon Disorders
  16. MEDICAL EDUCATION
  17. Learning With Reflection: Practices in an Osteopathic Surgery Clinical Clerkship Through an Online Module
  18. CLINICAL IMAGES
  19. Killian-Jamieson Diverticulum
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