Oh man, that guy is such a pain in the mesentery, you know what I mean?
What’s up DNews friends, Trace here.
Last year was crazy.
I mean, at the start of 2016 we had, like, 50-some organs tucked into our bodies according
to Merck, but by the end of 2016, we had one more -- the mesentery!
That’s right, science has just reclassified the mesentery from a group of tissues to an
organ!
You likely have no idea what the mesentery is, which is fine.
Just know it’s a fold in the lining of your abdomen (as if it wasn’t crowded enough
in there) and it suspends and attaches intestinal organs to the abdominal cavity; it also transports
lymph and blood to the gut.
One of the first to describe it was Leonardo da Vinci, and throughout history, doctors
have debated whether each part of the mesentery is individual -- each intestine had it’s
own -- or if it was one complete thing.
In a new study in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, researchers finally lit the
mesenteric candle, outlining and clarifying the mesentery’s structure, from a bunch
of individual tissues, to one whole organ.
They claim that while it’s specific function (aside from suspension) is unknown, it is
definitely all one thing.
Once the study was published, I guess that makes it official, reversing “over 100 years
of anatomy.”
Woo, celebrate!
I say, “I guess” because there’s not exactly some worldwide regulatory group for
organs.
We just… decide that something is a system, organ, tissue, or group of cells based on
what it’s made of!
We all know what cells are, the most basic form of life.
But, when enough cells with a similar function and construction get together, they become
a tissue!
Then, if different tissues work together: that’s an organ!
Organs together?
A SYSTEM.
Want some examples?
Red blood cells are cells, but taken together, they’re a connective tissue!
But the platelets, antibodies, white blood cells and whatnot… those need blood vessels
to move through the body.
Blood vessels are collections of different tissues, and thus are organs, and, of course,
the heart is an organ.
Taken together, these organs and tissues form part of the circulatory system.
So, this new organ which “hasn’t been acknowledged much as of late,” according
to the researchers, has now been defined as a group of tissues working together inside
the gut.
Which is exciting!
Though, the “discovery” of new body parts does happen.
In 2015, a study was published in Nature detailing a possible new part of the body: a lymphatic
vessel system that drains the BRAIN ITSELF.
Previously thought to not exist, it was right there in the mouse brain from the study…
we should have it too, they figure, but we just didn’t know these “central nervous
system lymphatic vessels” were there…
Chances are, the mesentery’s designation isn’t going to be life-changing for you,
but we’ll see!
The incredible thing about organs, is that once we realize something is an organ, we
can diagnose disorders and diseases using the organ as a basis.
For example, understanding that there are central nervous system lymphatic vessels in
brain could help people suffering from “MS, Alzheimer's or autism!”
So, once researchers determine exactly how the mesentery normally works, then doctors
can figure out what is abnormal, and begin to build the field of mesenteric science -- which
could have implications for abdominal diseases.
In fact, it’s already started.
The lead researcher convinced Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body, (Grey’s with an A) that
the mesentery was an organ last year when they updated their manual.
So now, med students may only know it as a single organ…
And history marks yet another tiny turning point in the twisting bowels of science.
Which sort of begs another question…
why isn’t all scientific knowledge free?
Lucky for you, we looked into that here.
What do you think about our new organ?
Sexy?
Keeping you in suspense?
Really got you in the gut?
I'll stop.
Tell us in the comments, and please subscribe for more DNews and thanks for watching.