Scientists in Ireland have classified a
brand-new organ inside human body, one that has been hiding in plain sight in
our digestive system, proving the anatomic description laid down over 100 years
of anatomy as incorrect. The mesentery, which connects the intestine to the
abdomen, had for hundreds of years been considered a fragmented structure made
up of multiple separate parts.
Researchers hope that
the reclassification will aid better understanding and treatment of abdominal
and digestive diseases.
New research by J Calvin Coffey, Professor of Surgery at University of
Limerick, Ireland, describes the mesentery as one, continuous structure. In a
review published in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology,
Coffey outlined the evidence for categorising the mesentery as an organ.
According to Coffey, mesenteric
science is its own specific field of medical study in the same way as
gastroenterology, neurology and coloproctology. “This is relevant universally
as it affects all of us. Up to now there was no such field as mesenteric
science. Now we have established anatomy and the structure. The next step is
the function. “During the initial research, we noticed that the mesentery was
one continuous organ. Up to that it was regarded as fragmented, present here,
absent elsewhere and a very complex structure. But, this organ is far from
fragmented and complex. It is simply one continuous structure,” Coffey said.
-PTI
Source: DNA-5th January,2017
