Jan 06, 2017 02:44 AM EST By Chris Brandt, UniversityHerald Reporter

A professor of Surgery at University of Limerick in Ireland has discovered a new organ in the digestive system - the mesentery, which has long been believed as a fragmented structure that connects the intestine to the abdomen. Because of its nature medical experts and scientists dismiss it as an insignificant piece of the digestive system. With new evidence, however, it's already classified as an organ.

The mesentery is a fold of tissue which generally attaches the intestines to the abdomen. The word, which is often used to refer to the small bowel tissue, acts as the bridge where the blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves pass through the intestine. Other mesenteries, on the other hand, support the other organs of the digestive system, such as the colon and the appendix.

What the researchers discovered during their initial research is that the mesentery is far from being the fragmented pieces they are popularly believed to be. Instead, it is one continuous and complex organ.

Now that the mesentery is classified as an organ, researchers hope that they will be able to understand its function more which will lead to a diagnosis of a more specific type of disease. This could also lead to a new field in science and medicine called mesenteric science.

Furthermore, the researchers also hoped that as further studies and understanding of the mesentery continue, there will be less invasive surgeries and fewer complications as well as patient recovery will be much faster and the surgery cost will be much cheaper.

The research was led by J Calvin Coffey, a professor of surgery at the University of Limerick in Ireland. The study, which was published in the Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, classified the mesentery as an organ.

The discovery has debunked a century-old belief regarding the anatomy and nature of the mesentery.

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