Parabiosis

Parabiosis is a laboratory technique used in physiological research, derived from the Greek word meaning "living beside."

The technique involves the surgical joining of two living organisms in such a way that they develop a single, shared physiological system.

Through this unique approach, researchers can study the exchange of blood, hormones, and other substances between the two organisms, allowing for the examination of a wide range of physiological phenomena and interactions.

Parabiosis combines two living organisms which are joined surgically and develop single, shared physiological systems.

After further refinement of the experimental procedure, the abdominal cavities were not opened, and the rats were conjoined at the hip bone with minimal cutting.

Known as heterochronic parabiosis, this process has been used in studies to investigate the age-related and disease-related changes in the composition of the blood, especially plasma proteome.

As animals age, their oligodendrocytes reduce in efficiency, resulting in decreased myelination, causing negative effects on the central nervous system (CNS).

Julia Ruckh and fellow researchers have used parabiosis to study remyelination from adult stem cells to see if conjoining young with older mice could reverse or delay this process.

The results of this experiment could lead to therapy processes for people with demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis.

[10] Obligate parasitic reproduction of Anglerfish of the family Ceratiidae, in which the circulatory systems of the males and females unite completely.

Without the attachment of males to females, the endocrine functions cannot mature; the individuals fail to develop properly and die young and without reproducing.

[11] Plants growing closely together roots or stems in intimate contact sometimes form natural grafts.

In the early 20th century Auguste-Henri Forel coined the term "parabiosis" for such associations, and it was adopted by the likes of William Morton Wheeler.

[15] Early reports that parabiotic ant colonies forage and feed together peacefully also have been qualified by observations that revealed ants of one species in such an association aggressively displacing members of the other species from artificially provided food, while also profiting by following their recruitment trails to new food sources.