Primo-Vascular System as Presented by Bong Han Kim

Abstract

In the 1960s Bong Han Kim discovered and characterized a new vascular system. He was able to differentiate it clearly from vascular blood and lymph systems by the use of a variety of methods, which were available to him in the mid-20th century. He gave detailed characterization of the system and created comprehensive diagrams and photographs in his publications. He demonstrated that this system is composed of nodes and vessels, and it was responsible for tissue regeneration. However, he did not disclose in detail his methods. Consequently, his results are relatively obscure from the vantage point of contemporary scientists. The stains that Kim used had been perfected and had been in use for more than 100 years. Therefore, the names of the stains were directed to the explicit protocols for the usage with the particular cells or molecules. Traditionally, it was not normally necessary to describe the method used unless it is significantly deviated from the original method. In this present work, we have been able to disclose staining methods used by Kim.

Figure 1

Illustration of the primo-vessel and p-subvessel. (a) Primo-vessel. 1: primo-subvessel; 2: cell nucleus of the outer membrane; 3: nucleus of endothelial cell; 4: external jacket of primo-vessel; 5: nucleus of jacket endothelial cell [7]. (b) Diagram of primo-subvessel. 1: wall of subvessel formed by endothelial cells; 2: outer membrane of subvessel; 3: endothelial cell with rod-shaped nucleus; 4: spindle-shaped cell with ellipsoidal nucleus; 5: fine basophil granules in the cytoplasm; 6: fine chromatin granules inside nucleus; 7: basophil granules inside the subvessel; 8: p-microcells. (c) Diagram of subvessel fibers. 1: primo-subvessel; 2: fine transversal fiber; 3: longitudinal fiber.

Figure 2

Primo-vessel and node. (a) Electron micrograph of the internal primo-vessel (cross section) (×42,000). BL: primo-fluid, BD: p-subvessel, IS: interstitial substance, WBD: external envelope of p-subvessel, ENBD: endothelial nucleus of the p-subvessel, and CEC: cytoplasm of endothelial cell [7]. (b) Diagram of the transversal section of a primo-node. 1: Primo-node; 2: primo-vessel; 3: node capsule; 4: lumens; 5: p-microcells.

Figure 3

Superficial primo-node. (a) Feulgen stain. Sinus of the superficial primo-node (arrow) (×160). (b) Hillarp-Hokfelt stain. 1: chromaffin cell, 2: blood vessel. (c) Sevki stain; 1: chromaffin cell; 2: blood vessel [7].

Figure 4

Fibers. (a) Superficial primo-node (resorcin-fuchsin stain) (×400). 1: sinus, arrow: elastic fiber, arrowhead: elastic membrane in blood vessel, and star: erythrocytes. (b) Superficial primo-node (Verhoeff stain) (×400). 1: sinus, white arrow: basophil particle, star: erythrocytes, blood vessel membrane: black arrow, and collagen fiber between sinus folds: arrowhead. (c) Neural Bonghan duct (in the central canal of the spinal cord) (Van Gieson stain) (×400). 1: primo-vessel, 2: central canal of the spinal cord. (d) Nerve-supply at the superficial primo-node (Gros-Schultze reaction) (×160). 1: superficial primo-node, 2: nerve fiber [7].

Figure 5

Hemocytoblast cells generate two major progenitor cell lineages, myeloid and lymphoid progenitors.

Figure 6

Internal primo-node (Giemsa stain). 1: hemocytoblast, 2: megakaryocyte, and 3: reticular fiber [7].

Figure 7

TEM micrographs of p-microcells, very small embryonic-like (VSEL), and hematopoietic stem cells. (a) External primo-node. Star: p-microcells. (b) P-microcells. BSS: p-microcell nucleosome, BSP: p-microcell nucleoplasm, and BSM: p-microcell membrane [7]. (c) TEM of very small embryonic-like (VSEL) cells and hematopoietic stem cells. (A) Small embryonic-like (VSEL) cells are small and measure 2–4 μm in diameter. They possess a relatively large nucleus surrounded by a narrow rim of cytoplasm. The narrow rim of cytoplasm possesses a few mitochondria, scattered ribosomes, small profiles of endoplasmic reticulum, and a few vesicles. The nucleus is contained within a nuclear envelope with nuclear pores. Chromatin is loosely packed and consists of euchromatin. (B) In contrast hematopoietic stem cells display heterogeneous morphology and are larger. They measure on average 8–10 μm in diameter and possess scattered chromatin and prominent nucleoli (reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd. leukemia [36], copyright, 2006).