The Primo-Vascular System (PVS): the Ultimate Fluid Fascia

By Bruno Chikly, MD, DO, LMT

The fluid fascia refers to the liquid component within the layers of connective tissue/fascia. It can shift and move in response to various internal factors (internal smooth muscles, lymphatic muscles, etc.) or external factors, such as movement, posture, skeletal muscle contractions, external compressions, deep breathing, beating of the arteries, and most probably emotions.

The fluid fascia transports chemical molecules, and cells with their bioelectric field, electrical and magnetic information [1]. We can describe five main types of fluid fascia in the body:

– Blood in blood capillaries, arteries or veins
– Lymph in lymphatic vessels (lymph capillaries, precollectors, collectors, trunks and ducts)
– Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
– Interstitial fluid (including cerebral interstitial fluid and the glymphatic system in the CNS)
– And more recently the primo-vascular fluid (PVS) can be added to this list [2].

The PVS is a previously unknown system that is remarkable as it integrates the features of the Cardiovascular, lymphatic, nervous, immune, and hormonal systems.

Pr. Bong-Han Kim, head of the department of physiology in Pyongyang, North Korea, discovered in around 1961 what he thought was the substratum for the acupuncture meridian system,[3].  He successively published five detailed articles about his research from 1962 to 1965. Around 1965, the institute where Bong-Han Kim was working in North Korea unexpectedly closed and to this day Bong-Han Kim’s fate is unknown.

Around 2000, Sup Soh, professor in the Department of Physics in Seoul, South Korea, used state of the art technology to rediscover the PVS, including confocal laser scanning microscopy [4], high voltage transmission electron microscopy[5], fluorescent nanoparticle [6]; immunohistochemistry [7]; and the ELISA technique [8].

All assessments show the PVS is a very unique system different from arteries, veins, lymphatic or nerves. Henceforth the PVS became the latest addition to the list of human body systems, and subsequently the latest fluid fascia to be portrayed. This is the discovery of a new, independent body system that previously had completely escaped our examination!

The Seoul National University observed the PVS in the bovine heart, the brain ventricles, in the central canal of spinal cords, as well as, for the first time, in the abdominal adipose tissues. Later on, the PVS was found in the central and peripheral nervous systems, on the surface of most viscera, in lymph and blood vessels, as well as in the subcutaneous layers of the skin [9].

The Primo-vessel is unique as it comprises a bundle of 1–20 ductules (subvessels) of 3–25 mm in diameter. Electrical signals have been registered along these vessels.

Primo-nodes are also present in the PVS with various shapes (round, oval, or multifaceted), 0.1–1.6 mm in size.

The Primo-fluid, remarkably, contains a high concentration of nucleic acids (DNA fragments) and some researchers believe they carry a large amount of biophotons /tissue bioluminescence: “vessels of light” [10].

The fluid contains a great quantity of small, multipotent, embryonic-like stem cells as well as hormones in secretory granules (adrenalin and noradrenalin), amino acids, lipids, sugars [11].

There are a lot more discoveries to be found for the role of the PVS in pathology. Wang et al. in China showed that the PVS of infected rats carries pathological products, which may be involved in inflammatory processes [12]. The PVS may also be a newly recognized player in cancer growth control, and may be a novel path for cancer metastasis, as primo-vessels are more concentrated around tumour sites, and migration of tumour cells is very efficient inside the PVS [13]. For example, rhythm can be palpated in the primo-vessels. These rhythms usually cannot be palpated any more in most cancers, but can be felt again after successful treatment.

The PVS system has very interesting implications for manual therapy. It opens our spectrum of possibilities. The presence of “primo-vessels” in several vessels, nerves, fascia and viscera, and in the central nervous system could potentially open novel possibilities of integration for fascial, lymphatic, cranial and visceral approaches.

The PVS is the last letter in the alphabet of manual therapy.

Please join us to discover the properties of this amazing, almost magical, PVS system in a lecture with the Fascia Hub Friday July 18th, 7pm BST.

The Chikly Health Institute (CHI) proposes unique online and presential classes related to fluid and fascia. If you want to contact the Chikly Health Institute:
www.ChiklyInstitute.com
Trainings@ChiklyInstitute.com .
+1 (480) 999-0808

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REFERENCES

1. Bordoni B, Escher AR, Tobbi F, et al. Fascial Nomenclature: Update 2022. Cureus. 2022 Jun 13;14(6):e25904. doi: 10.7759/cureus.25904. eCollection 2022 Jun. PMID: 35720786 PMCID: PMC9198288 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.25904

2. Chikly B, Roberts P, Quaghebeur J. Primo Vascular System: A Unique Biological System Shifting a Medical Paradigm. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2016 Jan;116(1):12-21. doi: 10.7556/jaoa.2016.002. PMID: 26745560

3. Kim BH. Great Discovery in Biology and Medicine: Substance of Kyungrak. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House; 1962.

4. Shin HS, Johng HM, Lee BC, et al. Feulgen reaction study of novel threadlike structures (Bonghan ducts) on the surfaces of mammalian organs. Anat Rec B New Anat 2005; 284B(1): 35-40. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.b.20061/.

5. Lee BC, Yoo JS, Ogay V, et al. Electron microscopic study of novel threadlike structures on the surfaces of mammalian organs. Microsc Res Tech 2007; 70(1): 34-43. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17019695

6. Lim J, Jung JH, Lee S, et al. Estimating the density of fluorescent nanoparticles in the primo vessels in the fourth ventricle and the spinal cord of a rat. J Biomed Opt 2011; 16(11): 116010-1160107. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22112115.

7. Soh KS, Hong S, Hong JY, Lee BC, Yoo JS. Immunohistochemical characterization of intravascular Bonghan duct. Microcirculation 2006; 13: 166.

8. Kim J, Ogay V, Lee BC, et al. Catecholamine-Producing Novel Endocrine Organ: Bonghan System. Medical Acupuncture 2008; 20(2): 97-102. http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acu.2008.0600.

9. Lee BC, Yoo JS, Ogay V, et al. Electron microscopic study of novel threadlike structures on the surfaces of mammalian organs. Microsc Res Tech 2007; 70(1): 34-43.

10. Soh KS. Bonghan Duct and Acupuncture Meridian as Optical Channel of Biophoton. J Korean Phys Soc 2004; 45(5): 1196-8.

11. Kwon BS, Ha CM, Yu S, et al. Microscopic nodes and ducts inside lymphatics and on the surface of internal organs are rich in granulocytes and secretory granules. Cytokine 2012; 60(2): 587-92.

12. Wang X, Shi H, Cui J, et al. Preliminary research of relationship between acute peritonitis and celiac primo vessels. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2013; 2013: 569161. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24069050/.

13. Yoo JS, Kim HB, Won N, et al. Evidence for an additional metastatic route: in vivo imaging of cancer cells in the primo-vascular system around tumors and organs. Mol Imaging Biol 2011; 13(3): 471-80. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20567924.