THE SPLEEN

The spleen is a bean-shaped organ located on the left upper part of the abdomen, just below the rib cage. Since its function is closely related to blood and blood cells, it is important to understand the four components that make up the blood before going into details of how the spleen works. These four components are: The liquid part- known as plasma; The white blood cells, which help the body, fight off infection; The red blood cells, which give blood its characteristic red appearance. They also help to distribute oxygen to the body and remove carbon dioxide; and The platelet cells, which help with the clotting of blood.

The main function of the spleen is to act as the bloods filter, but it also helps the immune system fight off infections. The reason it is equated with an oil filter is that it has spaces within it that, like the car component, filter off any abnormal blood cells. It can enlarge to more than five times its normal size if it encounters numerous abnormal blood cells, and this can be an indicator of infectious diseases [malaria], blood disorders [leukaemia], liver diseases and connective tissue diseases [lupus]. The problem with an enlarged spleen is that, rather than just filtering abnormal blood cells, it begins to filter off the normal ones, leading to a decrease in average blood cells. The result is infections [due to low levels of white blood cells], anaemia [due to low levels of red blood cells] and bleeding [due to low levels of platelets]. The treatment of an enlarged spleen heavily depends on the treatment of the underlying disease [for instance, anti-malaria drugs are given to treat malaria]. In cases where the disease is longstanding, the disease may be surgically removed.

Did you know...?

1. That the spleen gets easily injured and bleeds after a hard blow to the abdomen, for example, in a road traffic accident? You can live without a spleen? Although, in the case of children, they may require certain vaccines to prevent a number of infections.