like Gray’s Anatomy have listed 78 organs
in the human body. But that tally has just
gone up, reports The Washington Post.
Irish researchers have determined
that the mesentery,
a sheet of tissue that
connects the intestines
to the abdominal wall,
should be categorized
as a bona fide organ. For
decades, it was widely
believed that the mesentery
was merely a series of fragmented
membranes. But after
re-examining its structure, two
scientists from the University
of Limerick concluded that
it is in fact one continuous
entity that plays a vital role
in preventing the intestines from flopping
around in the belly. They believe the
mesentery fits the broad definition of an
organ: a self-contained structure that performs
a specific bodily function. “Without
it,” says study author J. Calvin Coffey,
“you can’t live.” It remains unclear what
other purposes the mesentery serves, or to
which system of the body it belongs. But
the researchers say that reclassifying the
body part as an organ will encourage further
study, which could help shed light on
Crohn’s disease and other gut disorders.
