SPLEEN
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Your spleen is shaped like a small, curled up fist, tucked under the left side of your diaphragm. It seems to be one of the least discussed organs of the body and most of us don't even know its purpose and we remain unaware of what it does to control our general well-being.
Your spleen is the guardian of your life.
No doubt you have known people who, for one reason or another,r such as severe car crash, have ruptured their spleen and had it removed. Many seem to get along well enough without it, at least for a time, when we read they have died of what is usually seen as something totally unrelated to the lack of a spleen. Even after a splenectormy,life goes on... it appears.
In truth, however, after the loss of the spleen, a person very often has problems with overwhelming bacterial infections of the blood. Old folks may call it "poisoning of the blood”... but, strictly speaking,it is known as “sepsis”.
These facts, alone, should demonstrate to us the functions of this vital organ.
The spleen receives blood from an artery from the aorta. I became very much aware of this a year or so ago when my abdominal aorta was suddenly found to be distended and about ready to ...well - “explode” is the exact word, although “pop” might do just as well. The discovery came about accidentally, too, because the x-rays were taken seeking evidence of polyps in the lower intestinal tract.
The blood from the aorta belong the heart is, then, passed through an intricate meshwork of tiny blood vessels, before it is passed along to the liver. Those tiny blood vessels are surrounded by nests of B lymphocytes, mostly of a type which has a “memory” of what has passed by them before. In the blood itself T-cells monitor the flow for any non-self invaders... anything that does not belong there. When they find any thing that is suspicious, it is sent to a memory-B cell for evaluation in relation to what has passed that way before. Once a B lymphocyte has matched a foreign body with those it has on file, it begins to produce antibodies directed precisely against that invading enemy.
A person without a spleen, or with a damaged spleen, does not have have such protection.
In addition, the blood vessels of the spleen are lined with “macrophages” which swallow and digest “debris” found in the blood. That’s what becomes, in case you’ve wondered, of worn- out, discard red blood cells and platelets. This needs to be pointed out because, is disease such as “mono” - mononucleosis - the macrophages of the spleen become overactive and start to trap and destroy a larger number of white blood cells. In such a case, the spleen may become swollen and subject to rupture.
I, for one, think it is important that we all start looking for both medical and common sense guidelines concerning the proper care and management of the spleen. It is far too important to be relegated to a second-place or also-ran position.
A.L.M. April 14, 2003 [c523wds]
