What Does The Spleen Do In Humans – The spleen is located under the ribs. It removes unhealthy, old and malformed red blood cells from circulation.Nerthuz/iStock/Thinkstock

The spleen helps remove harmful microbes from the blood. It carries the main components of the body’s immune system. The spleen removes unhealthy, old, and malformed red blood cells from circulation.

What Does The Spleen Do In Humans

Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body and remove carbon dioxide (a waste product). These disc-shaped cells are filtered by the spleen based on their physical characteristics. They can only re-enter the bloodstream if they are able to pass through a small splenic structure called an interendothelial slit. When red blood cells change in size, shape, or deformability, they cannot pass through.

Human Spleen Anatomy Stock Illustration. Illustration Of Human

In certain conditions, such as hereditary spherocytosis, misshapen red blood cells can become trapped in the spleen and cause anemia. In addition, certain diseases – such as malaria, leukemia and lymphoma – can cause the spleen to become enlarged, causing it to filter out not only abnormal cells but also healthy red blood cells.

Studying how the human spleen filters defective red blood cells has been challenging. The anatomy and physiology of the human spleen differs from that of typical laboratory animal models. Invasive procedures such as biopsies or needle aspiration can cause dangerous bleeding. A team of researchers led by Dr. Subra Suresh of Carnegie Mellon University and Dr. Ming Dao of MIT approached the problem using computer simulation tools. Their work was funded in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The study was published online

The team developed computer simulations of the mechanics of red blood cells as they travel through the spleen. The researchers determined that the cells were significantly distorted through the narrow splenic opening. This, they found, was in contrast to the simple bullet-shaped deformation that occurs in narrow blood capillaries.

Analyzes revealed limits to the surface area and volume that red blood cells can pass through the spleen. This work showed how the splenic slit determines the size and shape distribution of healthy red blood cells. The team’s predictions were consistent with independent experimental results using healthy, artificially modified and infected human red blood cells.

A Splash With The Spleen

“Computational and analytical models in this work, along with various experimental observations, point to a more detailed picture of how the physiology of the human spleen affects several key geometrical features of red blood cells,” says Suresh.

“We have presented results that show that the main organ that defines the shape of circulating red blood cells is the spleen,” Dao adds.

This work may lead to a better understanding of the role of the spleen in various disease states. The findings may have implications for future therapeutic approaches.

References: Red Blood Cell Biomechanics and Physiology of the Human Spleen and Implications for Disease. Pivkin IV, Peng Z, Karniadakis GE, Buffet PA, Dao M, Suresh S.

Spleen Surgery — Sunnybank Surgical Group

Funding: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); National Science Foundation; US Department of Energy; Swiss Platform for Advanced Scientific Computing; and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology.

Research Matters is a weekly update of expert-reviewed research highlights. It is published by the Office of Communications and Public Relations in the Office of the Director. The spleen is an organ located in the upper left side of your abdomen, under your rib cage. It helps fight infections and filter unwanted substances, such as old or damaged blood cells, from your blood.

Figure 1. Illustration with blood vessels including the splenic artery (red) and splenic vein (blue).

Splenectomy is surgery to remove your spleen. The most common cause of splenomegaly is the treatment of a ruptured spleen, often caused by an abdominal injury. Splenectomy can be used to treat other conditions, including enlarged spleens that cause atrophy (of the spleen), some blood disorders, certain cancers, infections, and noncancerous tumors or cancer.

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Splenectomy is often performed laparoscopically through 3 small incisions. With this type of surgery, you can leave the hospital the day after the surgery and make a full recovery in two weeks.

After the spleen is removed, other organs in your body take over many of the functions that were previously performed by your spleen. You can be active without a spleen, but you’re more likely to get sick or get serious infections. This risk increases after surgery.

To reduce your risk of infection, you should get certain vaccines to prevent certain infections. This includes vaccines for Haemophilus influenzae type B, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis. The injections should be given at least 2 weeks before surgery. The spleen is the largest organ in the body’s lymphatic system. This organ also acts as part of the immune system to protect the body from infection and disease.

Your spleen is located on the upper left side of your abdomen under your ribs and is about the size of your fist. Find out more about the spleen, its purpose and what can go wrong with it.

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The spleen is part of the lymphatic system and the immune system. The lymphatic system helps regulate body fluids. As part of that system, the spleen returns a fluid called lymph through a network of tissues, vessels, and organs back into the bloodstream. The spleen filters and destroys old, damaged or deformed red blood cells from the circulatory system.

As part of the immune system, the spleen removes microbes from your blood, and it produces white blood cells, which help fight infections. It also helps control the amount of red and white blood cells and platelets – blood cells – in your body, and it keeps a reserve of blood in case your body needs it in an emergency.

Like any other part of the body, the spleen can stop working properly or it can become injured. Some of these problems with the spleen include:

If you have a problem with your spleen, you may need to have it partially or completely removed. Partial splenectomy treats the underlying problem (such as a tumor or tumor) while preserving the spleen’s function. Splenectomy can usually be done laparoscopically, but sometimes it requires open surgery, especially in an emergency.

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After a splenectomy, your liver and lymph nodes can take over the function of your spleen. Removing the spleen won’t disable your immune system, but you have a greater chance of developing serious infections sooner. It will be especially important to stay up-to-date on all your vaccinations to protect yourself from disease. Your doctor may prescribe low-dose antibiotics for you every day for the rest of your life to reduce the risk of bacterial infections.

Ashley Festa is a Greenville, SC-based freelance writer and editor who has been writing professionally for nearly two decades. In addition, she has written for the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, the University of Texas Arlington School of Nursing and Health Innovation, and Fit Pregnancy magazine.

At , our editorial team works hard to develop complete, objective and meaningful health information to help people choose the right doctor, the right hospital and the right care. Our writers include physicians, pharmacists and registered nurses with first-hand clinical experience. All conditions, treatments and wellness content are medically reviewed by at least one medical professional to ensure the most accurate information possible. Learn more about our editorial process.

This tool does not provide medical advice. It is intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Don’t ignore professional medical advice when seeking treatment because of something you read on the website. If you think you may be having a medical emergency, call your doctor or call 911 right away. The spleen is a highly specialized and important organ that plays a critical role in the body’s immune system and in the removal and storage of blood. It has 3 main functions.

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1. Blood Filter – The spleen filters and removes old or damaged red blood cells (as well as other foreign particles such as bacteria and viruses).

2. Blood reservoir – It also serves as a reservoir for blood; Storing a reserve that can be released into the bloodstream in case of an injury or other emergency.

3. Antibody production. The spleen also plays an important role in the body’s immune system by producing antibodies. These are proteins that help the immune system recognize and neutralize foreign invaders (eg, germs like bacteria) in the body.

The spleen is an organ located in the upper left abdomen, near the stomach and to the left of the rib cage. It is 12 cm long (the same length as the kidneys), 5 cm thick and 7 cm wide. It weighs about 150 grams (again, like a kidney).

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In some conditions, the spleen can become enlarged, which is called splenomegaly. This can happen for many reasons, including infection, inflammation, or cancer. Here are some of them

In rare cases, the spleen may need to be surgically removed, a procedure called a splenectomy. This may be necessary if the spleen is enlarged or damaged enough to cause other health problems.

Many operations to remove the spleen

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