It is the place where red blood cells are buried, or more literally, that is the red blood cell cemetery, just like the image in our minds about the cemetery and what it suggests to us to contain all those who have lost their lives and are unable to do anything or do a task.
It is a member of the size of the fist, darker color closer to the violet, and a length of about 10 centimeters, located in the left side of the abdominal cavity to the left of the stomach, and because it is protected thoracic crotch can only be felt if the magnification.
The spleen is similar to the lymph nodes. It is the largest lymphatic organ in the body. It is composed of two basic types of tissue: the white tissue or the lymphatic tissue, which is composed of white blood cells and is part of the immune system in the body. The red tissue, which consists of filled venous cavities With blood.
But what are the functions of the spleen, and why have we previously said it is called the red blood cell cemetery?
The first function of the spleen and the immune system is performed when the blood enters the white tissue in the spleen, where the white blood cells of the type B, which manufacture antibodies, which contribute to overcome the bacteria and viruses and stop infection, and also in the lymphoid tissue T cells, which are By identifying and attacking bacteria and viruses before they infect our bodies.
As for the second function, when the blood enters the spleen, especially the red tissue, it will purify the blood and remove the red blood cells that have been ineffective – it is known that the time span of red blood cells is close to 120 days – After that period become red blood cells infertile , And then the red tissue breaks down the damaged cells to the basic components and re-manufactured.
Approximately one-third of the platelets are stored in the spleen. These platelets play a prominent role in blood clotting and stopping bleeding. In the case of severe sniffles, God forbid, this buffer is used to help blood clots as quickly as possible.
One of the things to be mentioned is that the spleen for the fetus who is in the womb of his mother follows the bone marrow curriculum, which manufactures red blood cells, but this function stops after birth.
In spite of all these multiple functions performed by the spleen, it is not considered a very important member, as the liver and bone marrow can fill the place, but people who have been infected with some diseases that disrupted the function of the spleen are likely to become more susceptible to infections of inflammation, Taking them for antibiotics may last a long time.