Unveiling the Spleen I.

Hello friends, happy new week to you all.
Today on ur healthy Tuesday we'll be looking at another interesting but hardly known organ; the spleen.

In today's post we'll have an overview of its location, structure and some of its functions.

What is the Spleen?

- It is a purplish, soft and ovoid shaped organ about the size of one' s fist,
It is about 4 inches long.
-It is a highly vascular organ with a soft mass and fibro-elastic capsule that covers it. It has the spleenic artey and vein as it's blood supply.

Location: It is found around under the rib-cage and above the stomach in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen.

The spleen is relatively delicate and considered as the most vulnerable abdominal organ.

Functions of the Spleen.

1. During intrauterine life, the spleen serves as one of the points of red blood cell production.

2. After birth it helps to remove old and worn out red blood cells and recycle the products used in their production.
This it does by separating the iron compound called the 'heam' from the globin or protein part of the hemoglobin. The iron is then stored and used when the need arises for new red blood cell production while the globin is broken down into bilirubin which is useful in bile production and subsequent digestion of fat.

3. It contains white blood cells which help to fight against sicknesses and diseases.

4. It acts as a temporary store of blood. The spleen has the ability to contract and release blood into circulation in cases of loss sudden loss of blood in through hemorrhage.

5. It serves as a reservoir of iron in the body.

Credit: WebMD.com
: medlineplus.gov
: Clinically Oriented Anatomy by Keith Moore.
Photo : keywordsuggest.

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