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PHYSIOLOGY

Go with the flow—hidden vascular passages in bone

The circulatory system in long bones is incompletely understood. A new study published in Nature Metabolism unveils the presence of dense vascular networks in long bones that facilitate the egress of bone marrow cells and potentially the exchange of nutrients between the bone marrow and the systemic circulation.

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Fig. 1: Formation and function of trans-cortical vein canals within compact bone.

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Correspondence to Christopher Ritchlin.

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Competing interests

I.A. has received consultancy fees/grants from Pfizer, Schering-Plough/Merck, Tanabe Research Labs, and Novartis. C.R. declares no competing interests.

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Ritchlin, C., Adamopoulos, I.E. Go with the flow—hidden vascular passages in bone. Nat Metab 1, 173–174 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-018-0024-5

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