THE COVENANT OF NOA - NEIGHBOURING ORGAN ASSISTANCE (NOA) TO SOFT TISSUE STRUCTURES

摘要

Soft tissues hollow structures are capable of collapsing not only under their own power but also able to employ movements of their neighbors to aid their function of propelling content. An intensive study of collapsible hollow structures is a recent development and no general law recognising this convenient coupling of the dynamics of neighboring organs is available in the literature. The literature on whole organ physiology was analysed and examples of neighboring organs providing assistance to soft tissue structures was collected. We offer the title Covenant of NOA to the arrangement that soft tissue structures have with their neighbors. The calf muscle pump and parturition are obvious examples of NOA. From examining videocystometric recordings, we are able to offer, as the latest to a long list of known NOAs, the assistance of the pelvic diaphragm to the urinary bladder that aids the latter in emptying completely. The modeling of soft tissue hollow organs as functioning somewhat in isolation must be considered antediluvian. Very often, soft tissue structures come in pairs to implement NOA: it is time we too hearkened to the Covenant of NOA.