January 4, 2017.
We thought we knew everything about the human body, but it still has secrets to reveal to us about how it works. A team of researchers from University Hospital Limerick in Ireland has discovered a new organ in the digestive system.
A 79e discovered organ
The mesentery. Here is the name of 79e organ that Irish scientists have just discovered in the digestive system. According to an article published in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, the mesentery would lie between the intestine and the abdominal walls. ” Today we have succeeded in establishing its anatomy and structure », Said Prof. J Calvin Coffey, at the origin of this discovery. ” We now need to know its function. “
And to add: ” If you understand the function, you can then identify an abnormality, and therefore a disease. Put it all together, and you get the field of mesenteric science … the foundation for a whole new field of science “. It is therefore a major discovery that these scientists have just brought to light. Until now, the mesentery was indeed considered as a set of fragmented structures.
Long considered to be a collection of fragmented structures
According to The Independent, Leonardo da Vinci had already identified and described this organ, in 1508, but, since, the scientific community had not wanted to qualify the mesentery of organ. ” The anatomical description that had been established, for 100 years of anatomy, was incorrect, this organ is far from being fragmented and complex, it is simply a continuous structure. », Detailed J. Calvin Coffey in a press release.
It is precisely a fold of the peritoneum, the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity. It connects the intestine to the wall of the abdomen and has an important function since it keeps all of these organs in place.. Now, scientists will seek to clarify the role that this organ plays in our body, in order to better understand certain diseases of the digestive tract.
To find out more: How does the digestive system work?
