The spleen is a viscera of vertebrates, which is part of the lymphatic system maintaining the balance of body fluids, usually located in the upper left part of the abdomen. The term spleen is of Latin origin badius which means “reddish.”
In reference to the above, the spleen is a soft organ, it is composed of 2 tissues: the white pulp participates in the immune system causing the lymphocytes and, the red pulp is the red blood filter and reserve, it can weigh between 100 – 250 grams, but this may vary over time and due to certain situations such as: a disease.
The splenectomy, term indicating the total or partial surgical removal of the spleen when diagnosed damaged for some reason or disease. However, the human being can live without a spleen because the liver or other organs can perform their functions, highlighting as a negative aspect that the body will lose part of its ability to fight infections.
Also, the term spleen refers to an infectious disease of cattle.
Spleen Functions
Due to its characteristics, the main function of the spleen is to eliminate the oldest red blood cells from the bloodstream, at the same time, they produce and reserve a type of white blood cells: lymphocytes, which produce antibodies and help eliminate microbes and others waste from the bloodstream. It also participates in the digestive process in the absorption and transport of nutrients, helps the transport of water and moisture in the body, allows to defend against some infectious agents such as meningococus in children.
In reference to the above, if the spleen does not fulfill the functions described above, it can be detected by the following symptoms: digestive disorders, fluid retention, diarrhea, bleeding, heavy periods, low defenses, among other symptoms.
Likewise, the diseases that attack it are: viral, prasitary, bacterial infections, liver diseases, hemolytic anemias and cancer.
Glass, base, spleen
The words glass, base, spleen, have some similarity at the time of being pronounced but have different meanings and writings. The glass is a container that is used for liquids. The basis is to base something through a series of principles such as “the doctor diagnosed the spleen malfunction because it was based on the symptoms of the patients” and, finally, the spleen is a viscera of the body that performs functions corresponding to the blood and the immune system.
