No matter how far medical science has taken a step since the times of Hippocrates, Paracelsus and Galen, there are still secrets of the structure of the human body that man himself has not fully understood. Not only the causes of individual diseases and methods of their treatment, but even the purpose of some organs is still not fully understood. These include the spleen - its functions are defined, but basically they are duplicated by other organs, and it is not clear what its exclusivity is. And the main mystery is why the removal of the spleen minimally affects the general condition of the body and does not entail any serious functional changes. Is it true, as in the more well-known case with the appendix, nature allowed a certain excess?
Not every person knows where the spleen is. In general, it is not surprising - this organ is small in size, weighs 150-200 grams and hides under the ribs, not far from the left kidney and just above the stomach. With its oval oblate shape, it resembles an ear. He behaves quietly and imperceptibly, only occasionally he can remind himself, for example, during intensive exercises (in such cases they say: “the spleen is flowing”). Its functions are completely unobvious, and if from time to time we have to hear about other internal organs even at a preventive examination by a doctor, not to mention in-depth examinations, then the spleen remains a “silence figure”. She, by the way, has her own diseases quite rare, but secondary lesions happen more often than other neighbors inside the human body.
The anatomy of the spleen is intricate - although outwardly it does not look like a complex organ, it consists of several different types of tissue. It seems to be contained in a capsule of dense tissue, and inside it is a pulp called pulp, which is delimited by red and white. The red pulp is filled with blood cells, and the white tissue is lymphoid tissue. And between them there is also the so-called marginal zone, in which defective cells accumulate and macrophages responsible for antibacterial protection are collected.
Such a mysterious content has a mysterious spleen. Its functions are precisely determined by such a structure. It delays the antigens circulating in the blood, filters out bacteria, viruses, microbes and other debris and produces antibodies and lymphocytes that protect the body from various diseases. She also defines “obsolete” blood cells in the bloodstream and “utilizes” them. It serves as a spleen and a kind of accumulator of blood released during acute blood loss, and iron used to produce hemoglobin.
Why does the human body not suffer in cases when, for medical reasons, the spleen is removed? The lymph nodes take over its functions and, admittedly, they cope with them wonderfully.
So, were the ancient doctors really right who removed the spleen to the athletes-runners so that they would not “jut” and prevent them from winning laurel wreaths? Modern doctors say that their predecessors in this case still got excited. Not only is it very doubtful that the absence of a spleen can affect running speed, so the person’s immune system weakens somewhat when this organ is removed. Still, the more organs involved in filtering blood and neutralizing numerous enemies of the body - the better. So in our time, they resort to removal only in cases of injuries, and with some specific blood diseases. As for the spleen’s diseases directly, its heart attack is a rare and not painful process, from which the organ is cured, most often, on its own. And secondary diseases, to which, as we have already mentioned, the spleen is susceptible, are treated together with the main diseases.