Scientists discover new organ inside human body

LONDON: Scientists have discovered a new organ known as the ‘mesentery’ in the human body, according to a report published in a British newspaper.

According to the Independent report, the new organ, hiding in plain sight inside the human body, was previously thought to be just a few fragmented structures in the digestive system.

However, the scientists have realised it is in fact one, a continuous organ.

J Calvin Coffey, a researcher at the University Hospital Limerick, who first discovered mesentery said although its function is still unclear, the discovery opens up “a whole new area of science.”

"When we approach it like every other organ… we can categorise abdominal disease in terms of this organ," he told the Science Alert website. 

“Now we have established anatomy and the structure. The next step is the function. If you understand the function you can identify abnormal function, and then you have disease, the report said.

“Put them all together and you have the field of mesenteric science.”

The research has been published in The Lancet medical journal.

It added that following its reclassification, medical students are now being taught that the mesentery is a distinct organ.