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Mesentery: Designated As a New Organ

Posted in Cell Biology, Cytoskeleton, Developmental biology, Disease Biology, Evidence-based decision-making, Uncategorized, tagged Abdomen, disease, mesentery, organ, peritoneum, structure on January 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

Researchers have classified a brand-new organ inside human body. Known as the mesentery, the new organ is found in our digestive systems, and was long thought to be made up of fragmented, separate structures. But recent research has shown that it’s actually one, continuous organ. The evidence for the organ’s reclassification is now published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Although we now know about the structure of this new organ, its function is still poorly understood, and studying it could be the key to better understanding and treatment of abdominal and digestive disease.

mesentery

J Calvin Coffey, a researcher from the University Hospital Limerick in Ireland, who first discovered that the mesentery was an organ. In 2012, Coffey and his colleagues showed through detailed microscopic examinations that the mesentery is actually a continuous structure. Over the past four years, they’ve gathered further evidence that the mesentery should actually be classified as its own distinct organ, and the latest paper makes it official. Mesentery is a double fold of peritoneum – the lining of the abdominal cavity – that holds our intestine to the wall of our abdomen. It was described by the Italian polymath Leanardo da Vinci in 1508, but it has been ignored throughout the centuries, until now. Although there are generally considered to be five organs in the human body, there are in fact now 79, including the mesentery. The heart, brain, liver, lungs and kidneys are the vital organs, but there are another 74 that play a role in keeping us healthy. The distinctive anatomical and functional features of mesentery have been revealed that justify designation of the mesentery as an organ. Accordingly, the mesentery should be subjected to the same investigatory focus that is applied to other organs and systems. This provides a platform from which to direct future scientific investigation of the human mesentery in health and disease.

References:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(16)30026-7/abstract

http://www.sciencealert.com/it-s-official-a-brand-new-human-organ-has-been-classified

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38506708

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/new-organ-mesentery-found-human-body-digestive-system-classified-abdominal-grays-anatomy-a7507396.html

https://in.news.yahoo.com/scientists-discover-human-organ-064207997.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesentery