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Scientists Identify New Organ In Humans (livescience.com)
Scientists have classified a new organ called the mesentery, which connects a person's small and large intestines to the abdominal wall and anchors them in place, according to the Mayo Clinic. Until recently, it was thought of a number of distinct membranes by most scientists. It was none other than Leonardo da Vinci who identified the membranes as a single structure, according to a recent review. Live Science reports: In the review, lead author Dr. Calvin Coffey, a professor of surgery at the University of Limerick's Graduate Entry Medical School in Ireland, and colleagues looked at past studies and literature on the mesentery. Coffey noted that throughout the 20th century, anatomy books have described the mesentery as a series of fragmented membranes; in other words, different mesenteries were associated with different parts of the intestines. More recent studies looking at the mesentery in patients undergoing colorectal surgery and in cadavers led Coffey's team to conclude that the membrane is its own, continuous organ, according to the review, which was published in November in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The reclassification of the mesentery as an organ "is relevant universally as it affects all of us," Coffey said in a statement. By recognizing the anatomy and the structure of the mesentery, scientists can now focus on learning more about how the organ functions, Coffey said. In addition, they can also learn about diseases associated with the mesentery, he added.
Time for new textbooks that will be $250 each!
I think it's more "Scientists identify overlooked organ". Pity..... "New" would have been cool, in an X-MEN sort of way.
So, did the value of my Grey's Anatomy book go up or down? Fingers crossed.
Indeed! We really don't have just one brain. We already know that the spine itself reacts like a brain and near your solar plexus is a junction of nerves that processes more information. The eyes pre-process and sort information before it ever gets near the brain. Unfortunately I haven't researched it for years and retroactive amnesia has set into my brain.
I lost about 35 pounds and discovered an organ I hadn't seen in so long I thought it was a myth.
Also, that I have two feet attached to my toes.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
You have died of mesentery.
"If there was a gay Afro-Puertorican Linux distribution, I'd give it a try" ~lucm
I for one welcome our new intestinal innerlords.
Can we name it the semicolon?
Saurischians are dinosaurs, dinosaurs are saurischians. Birds are saurischians. Birds are dinosaurs.
Since the publication of The Origin of Species, and the flurry of evolutionary classification that took off after it, birds have been recognized as some kind of Archosaur or another. Birds have always been known to have been dinosaurs.
...when they harvest all the rest of my organs by default.
No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
Not only that I but distinctly remember studying the mesentery and its functions in medical school when I was there over 20 years ago... although it may not have been specifically granted the name "organ", that's not really how medical students classify things anyway. Organ simply means a collection of tissues performing a specific function or functions. You're far more likely to get a question asking about those functions, or where the blood supply comes from, or what embryological layers went into forming this structure on any test at medical school than "is this an organ?". We've known for a long time that the mesentery has quite a few functions from immune system functions (the thing is FULL of lymph nodes as anyone who has ever had adenitis mesenterica will testify) to being able to move through chemotaxis towards and plug any leaks in the bowel.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
There are no new organs in my colon thank you very much.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
It's called the "gut." Previously this organ was believed to be a series of smaller independent organs and tissues, but I've decided otherwise. Where's my Nobel Prize.
They merely discovered that it was fully connected instead of segmented.
Anyone that's read the older First Responder coursebooks from 20+ years ago knows this thing exists in humans. WONDERFUL pictures of shattered bowels and mesentery all throughout the book.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Sounds like the Pluto debate of anatomy - is it an organ or a mere set of membranes?