Posted on 01/03/2017 5:21:48 PM PST by BenLurkin
The mesenterys purpose isnt fully understood, but its presence could hold the key to treating digestive diseases.
It was previously thought that the organ was an unimportant group of structures, but it has now been classified as one single organ, which connects the abdomen to the intestine.
The discovery that the mesentery was a single structure was first made by Irish researcher J Calvin Coffey at University Hospital Limerick in Ireland in 2012.
Since then, he and his team studied the mesentery to prove it should be classified as an organ. "When we approach it like every other organ, Coffey explained, we can categorise abdominal disease in terms of this organ."
...
The mesentery is a double fold of peritoneum, the abdominal cavity lining, which keeps everything together. Its reclassification brings the total number of human organs to 79.
Whether the mesentery should be viewed as part of the intestinal, vascular, endocrine, cardiovascular, or immunological systems is so far unclear, as it has important roles in them all, the study reads.
(Excerpt) Read more at rt.com ...
Ba-dump-bump-ching!
James Bond, Diamonds are Forever.
Felix,looking at the coffin containing the body of Bond’s “brother”, “ we searched everywhere, so where did you hide the diamonds”
Bond, “it’s alimentary, Felix”.
It’s been know for decades that when the mesentery gets infected you have got dysentery.
What about the Pineal gland? Hunter Thompson would eat human Pineal gland (no clue as to how he obtained them )and it was like tripping on LSD times 10.
What about the Pineal gland? Hunter Thompson would eat human Pineal gland (no clue as to how he obtained them )
New human organ discovered, purpose of mesentery in men unknown.
Purpose of mesentery in women is to confuse men who can`t understand it.
It’s about the size of a grain of rice.
Actually I got the quote wrong: “Man, I’ll try just about anything; but I’d never in hell touch a pineal gland.” - H. Thompson.
If I donate 1/2 of mine ... Will it Grow Back?
(running out of things to sell on Craigslist)
And now, a public service dramatization from the National Uvula Association.
Thank you. Let our rallying cry be “Pluto Matters!”
All of this curious bio-banter about the mesenteric membranes really highlights one of my favorite bitching points about biology.
There is as huge disbalance in our relative understanding of structure and function in biology. We are strong on structure, but incredibly weak on function. It is the same reason we don’t understand intelligence biologically or philosophically.
I still need to think more about why we have this shortcoming. It may turn out that the perceived relation between structure and function is less important than we think. A part of me thinks we have a lot of biology backwards. A deterministic view of structure-function relations may be highly flawed. Especially when you look at the plasticity of neural function, you can see where there is a huge problem.
This same blind spot for understanding biological function leads to what I regard as almost silly “findings” like deciding mesenteric membranes constitute an organ. Many years ago, skin was belatedly termed as an organ. I am waiting for the next shoe to drop and call connective tissue yet another kind of organ. So, what is this weak netherworld occupied by my colleagues where organism, organ and tissue have this odd interplay? So, also, are we waiting for some kind of supraorgan concept to account for the “microbiome” all throughout our body. How about an “electrome” to cover all the bases with the various electrochemical reactions that make up any life form’s body?
This is the danger of strict empiricism in biology. You keep confabulating all these categories of function that grow like epicycles in Ptolemy’s astronmical system, lacking the organizing principles of a Copernicus.
Function is somehow at the center of this, but we lack a concept like gravity, to pull all these different notions into a unified whole called life.
BTTT
Is the appendix an organ?
I think that will happen when we determine the location of the Kingons around Uranus.
yes
Oops!
Let me try again.
I think that will happen when we determine the location of the Klingons around Uranus.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.