Mesentery

<p>In <a href="/facts/Human_anatomy/B3jf4a8o">human anatomy</a>, the mesentery is an <a href="/facts/Organ_(anatomy)/FUYsLaxz">organ</a> that attaches the <a href="/facts/Intestine/nK2zwqBS">intestines</a> to the <a href="/facts/Posterior_abdominal_wall/AEEQ1Fmr">posterior abdominal wall</a>, consisting of a double fold of the <a href="/facts/Peritoneum/BotJhUr0">peritoneum</a>. It helps (among other functions) in storing <a href="/facts/Adipose_tissue/PxxedB6e">fat</a> and allowing <a href="/facts/Blood_vessel/FG3GjPNW">blood vessels</a>, <a href="/facts/Lymphatics/jND0hlDu">lymphatics</a>, and <a href="/facts/Nerve/q7GsAfYV">nerves</a> to supply the intestines.
</p><p>The mesocolon (the part of the mesentery that attaches the colon to the abdominal wall) was formerly thought to be a fragmented structure, with all named parts—the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid mesocolons, the mesoappendix, and the mesorectum—separately terminating their insertion into the posterior abdominal wall. However, in 2012, new <a href="/facts/Microscopy/GpHlElDS">microscopic</a> and <a href="/facts/Electron_microscope/XtaBktwF">electron microscopic</a> <a href="/facts/Histology/yrI90zlU">examinations</a> showed the mesocolon to be a single structure derived from the <a href="/facts/Duodenojejunal_flexure/YzQvGeh8">duodenojejunal flexure</a> and extending to the distal mesorectal layer. Thus the mesentery is an <a href="/facts/Internal_organ/FUYsLaxz">internal organ</a>.
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Mesentery open-in-new

Mesentery