It is an ovoid-shaped, flattened and very friable visceral parenchymal organ that belongs to the circulatory system, located to the left of the midline below the diaphragm, covered by the lateral and lower part of the thorax. Its color is an intense reddish color and it weighs about 200 grams and although it varies in size depending on the human being, it measures approximately 13 centimeters in length, 9 centimeters wide and 3.5 centimeters thick.
Being a vascular organ that is surrounded by a conjunctival capsule, formed by two different formations that are: the white pulp and the red pulp and is irrigated by the splenic artery and vein, it interacts with lymphopoiesis or formation of lymphatic tissues and in the destruction of erythrocytes. It is held by fibrous bands attached to the peritoneum, which is the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity.
Its function is to destroy old red blood cells and produce new ones, keep the blood reserve at a good level in the body; Since it is part of the lymphatic system, it is the center of the activity of the immune system, in the immune part it works by creating antibodies to the body, aids digestion by absorbing and distributing nutrients to the body and defends the body from some infections such as pneumococcus, haemaphilus and meningococcus in children, filters the blood, maintains moisture in the body, is an important part in the production and maintenance of red blood cells and certain white blood cells.
In its hematic functions, the spleen intervenes in hematopoiesis producing red blood cell erythrocytes during the gestation of the fetus, in adults this function disappears and is activated if there is some malfunction or myeloproliferative disorder, which reduces the bone marrow's capacity and amount of blood cell production. In its function of splenic hemocatheresis, it produces models of the reticulocytes forming the biconcave discs, thus discarding the red blood cells that are in poor condition. If the spleen is malfunctioning, you emit signals or symptoms that can be misinterpreted; as for example in pale, dull and brittle lips, growth of the organ by variousparasitic infections or liver conditions, or AIDS; that reaching the moment of removal due to an irreversible deterioration, this procedure being called splenectomy.
