Dissecting Room

The Nobel Chronicles

A model of growth control system suggests that the organizers in embryogenesis continue to exist and partially retain their function after embryogenesis. The organizers are the macroscopic singular points of the morphogen gradient and bioelectric fields. They have higher metabolic rate, higher density of gap junctions and stem cells than the surrounding tissue. The growth control model predicts that the organizers are likely to exist at the extreme points of surface or interface curvature of the body. Changes in bioelectric field at organizers precede the morphological and anatomical changes in morphogenesis and pathogenesis. Subtle perturbations at organizers can cause long lasting systemic effects. These features of organizers can be used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes such as regenerative medicine. There is increasing evidence that acupuncture points are likely to have originated from organizers in embryogenesis. Many corollaries and predictions of the growth control model have been independently confirmed in developmental biology, physiology, as well as basic and clinical acupuncture research. This model set the first example of a truly integrative biological basis of acupuncture and conventional biomedical sciences which has met the gold standard of science with multiple confirmed predictions in both fields. The growth control system is embedded in various physiological systems and is part of the foundation of physiology and pathophysiology.