Spleen is an organ found in for all intents and purposes all vertebrates. Comparable in design to a huge lymph hub, it acts principally as a blood filter.

The spleen assumes significant parts concerning red blood cells (erythrocytes) and the immune system. It eliminates old red blood cells and holds a reserve of blood, which can be significant in case of hemorrhagic shock, and recycles  iron. As a piece of the mononuclear phagocyte system, it utilizes hemoglobin eliminated from senescent red blood cells (erythrocytes). The globin portion of hemoglobin is debased to its constitutive amino acids, and the heme portion is metabolized to bilirubin, which is eliminated in the liver.

Spleen synthesizes antibodies in its white pulp and eliminates antibody-coated  microorganisms and antibody-coated  blood cells via blood and lymph node flow. These monocytes, after moving to harmed tissue (like the heart after myocardial localized necrosis), turn into dendritic cells and macrophages while promoting tissue healing. The spleen is a focal point of action of the mononuclear phagocyte system and is analogous to a large lymph node, as its nonattendance makes a predisposition to certain infection.

In human the spleen is purple in shading and is in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen.

Anatomy

The spleen is under the left part of the diaphragm, and has a smooth, curved surface that faces the diaphragm. It is under the 9th, 10th, and eleventh ribs. The opposite side of the spleen is partitioned by an edge into two areas: a front gastric segment, and a back renal bit. The gastric surface is coordinated forward, upward, and toward the center, is wide and concave, and is in contact with the posterior wall of the stomach. Beneath this it is in contact with the tail of the pancreas. The renal surface is coordinated medialward and downward. It is somewhat flattened,considerably smaller than the gastric surface, and is in connection with the upper part of the anterior surface of the left kidney and occasionally with the left adrenal gland.

Function

Based on structure:

Red pulp: Mechanical filtration of red blood cells. In mice: Reserve of monocytes.

White pulp: Active immune response through humoral and cell-mediated pathways.

Other functions

• Spleen  produce a wide range of blood cells during fetal life.
• Production of red blood cells. While the bone marrow is the essential site of hematopoiesis in the adult, the spleen has significant hematopoietic function up until the fifth month of growth. After birth, erythropoietic function stop, except in some hematologic disorders.
• Storage of red blood cells, lymphocytes and other formed components. The spleen of horses stores around 30% of the red blood cells and can deliver them when needed. In human, up to a cup (240 ml) of red blood cells is held inside the spleen and delivered in instances of hypovolemia and hypoxia. It can store platelets in the case of  an emergency and also clears old platelets from the circulation. Up to a quarter, or one fourth, of lymphocytes are put away in the spleen at any one time.

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Regards
Jacqueline
Managing Editor
Journal of Anatomical Science and Research.