New organ reclassified in digestive system

Following research at the University of Limerick, a part of the digestive system has been reclassified as an organ.

Professor J Calvin Coffey has discovered that the mesentery, the structure connecting the intestine to the stomach, is one single organ, having previously thought to be made up of lots of separate parts.

The mesentery is a double fold of the peritoneum, the lining of the abdominal cavity, which attaches the stomach, small intestine, colon and other organs to the abdomen.

Published in the Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Coffey’s research now means that there are 79 classified organs in the human body - with the surgeon arguing that the mesentery should be now be investigated to the same degree as other organs and systems in the human body, which could lead to an important role in the understanding and treat meant of a number of diseases, including colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and obesity.

Coffey said: “Now we have established anatomy and structure. The next step is function. If you understand the function you can identify abnormal function, then you have disease. Put them all together and you have the field of mesenteric science. When we approach it like every other organ, we can categorise abdominal disease in terms of this organ.”