Spleen#Food

In humans, the spleen is underneath the left part of the diaphragm, and has a smooth, convex surface that faces the diaphragm. It is underneath the ninth, tenth, and eleventh ribs. The other side of the spleen is divided by a ridge into two regions: an anterior gastric portion, and a posterior renal portion. The gastric surface is directed forward, upward, and toward the middle, is broad and concave, and is in contact with the posterior wall of the stomach. Below this it is in contact with the tail of the pancreas. The renal surface is directed medialward and downward. It is somewhat flattened, considerably narrower than the gastric surface, and is in relation with the upper part of the anterior surface of the left kidney and occasionally with the left adrenal gland.

There are four ligaments attached to the spleen: gastrosplenic ligament, splenorenal ligament, colicosplenic ligament, and phrenocolic ligament.{{Cite journal |last1=Ostermann |first1=P. A. W. |last2=Schreiber |first2=H. W. |last3=Lierse |first3=W. |date=September 1987 |title=Der Bandapparat der Milz und seine Bedeutung bei chirurgischen Eingriffen |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/BF01259432 |journal=Langenbeck's Archiv für Chirurgie |language=de |volume=371 |issue=3 |pages=207–216 |doi=10.1007/BF01259432 |pmid=3683035 |s2cid=35213355 |issn=0023-8236}}

The spleen, in healthy adult humans, is approximately {{convert|7|to|14|cm|in|frac=2}} in length. It weighs between {{cvt|1|oz|g}} and {{cvt|8|oz|g}} (standard reference range),{{cite journal|last1=Molina|first1=D. Kimberley|last2=DiMaio|first2=Vincent J.M.|title=Normal Organ Weights in Men|journal=The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology|volume=33|issue=4|year=2012|pages=368–372|issn=0195-7910|doi=10.1097/PAF.0b013e31823d29ad|pmid=22182984|s2cid=32174574}} correlating mainly to height, body weight and degree of acute congestion but not to sex or age.{{cite journal|last1=Sprogøe-Jakobsen|first1=Susan|last2=Sprogøe-Jakobsen|first2=Ulrik|title=The weight of the normal spleen|journal=Forensic Science International|volume=88|issue=3|year=1997|pages=215–223|issn=0379-0738|doi=10.1016/S0379-0738(97)00103-5|pmid=9291593}}

File:Spleen ultrasound.jpg|Spleen seen on abdominal ultrasonography

File:Maximum length of spleen on ultrasonography.jpg|Maximum length of spleen on abdominal ultrasonography

File:Gray1226.png|Back of lumbar region, showing surface markings for kidneys, ureters, and spleen

File:Gray1217.png|Side of thorax, showing surface markings for bones, lungs (purple), pleura (blue), and spleen (green)

File:Gray1188.png

Near the middle of the spleen is a long fissure, the hilum, which is the point of attachment for the gastrosplenic ligament and the point of insertion for the splenic artery and splenic vein. There are other openings present for lymphatic vessels and nerves. In addition to the splenic artery, collateral blood supply is provided by the adjacent short gastric arteries.{{cite journal | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6730702/|title=The collateral arterial network of the spleen following ligation of the splenic artery in traumatic rupture of the spleen; an arteriographic study|date=1984 |pmid=6730702 |last1=Keramidas |first1=D. C. |last2=Kelekis |first2=D. |last3=Dolatzas |first3=T. |last4=Aivazoglou |first4=T. |last5=Voyatzis |first5=N. |journal=Zeitschrift für Kinderchirurgie |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=50–51 |doi=10.1055/s-2008-1044169 |s2cid=29302459 }}

Like the thymus, the spleen possesses only efferent lymphatic vessels. The spleen is part of the lymphatic system. Both the short gastric arteries and the splenic artery supply it with blood.{{Cite book

| publisher = Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

| isbn = 978-0-7817-7076-7

| last = Blackbourne

| first = Lorne H

| title = Surgical recall

| year = 2008

| page = [https://archive.org/details/surgicalrecall00blac/page/259 259]

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The germinal centers are supplied by arterioles called penicilliary radicles.{{cite web|url=http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/penicilliary+radicles |title=Penicilliary radicles |publisher=Medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com |access-date=2011-04-03}}

The spleen is innervated by the splenic plexus, which connects a branch of the celiac ganglia to the vagus nerve.

The underlying central nervous processes coordinating the spleen's function seem to be embedded into the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis, and the brainstem, especially the subfornical organ.{{Cite journal|last1=Lori|first1=Andrea|last2=Perrotta|first2=Marialuisa|last3=Lembo|first3=Giuseppe|last4=Carnevale|first4=Daniela|date=2017-06-07|title=The Spleen: A Hub Connecting Nervous and Immune Systems in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases|journal=International Journal of Molecular Sciences|volume=18|issue=6|page=1216|doi=10.3390/ijms18061216|issn=1422-0067|pmc=5486039|pmid=28590409|doi-access=free}}

The spleen is unique in respect to its development within the gut. While most of the gut organs are endodermally derived, the spleen is derived from mesenchymal tissue.{{cite journal | last= Vellguth | first=Swantje |author2=Brita von Gaudecker |author3=Hans-Konrad Müller-Hermelink | title=The development of the human spleen | journal=Cell and Tissue Research | volume=242 | issue=3 | pages=579–92 | doi=10.1007/BF00225424 | pmid=4075378 | year= 1985 | s2cid=19864892 }} Specifically, the spleen forms within, and from, the dorsal mesentery. However, it still shares the same blood supply—the celiac trunk—as the foregut organs.

File:Spleen hyaloserositis - low mag.jpg of splenic tissue showing the red pulp (red), white pulp (blue nuclei in lighter background) and a thickened inflamed capsule (mostly pink – top of image). H&E stain.]]

File:Red Pulp and White Pulp of the Spleen.jpg

Other functions of the spleen are less prominent, especially in the healthy adult:

• Spleen produces all types of blood cells during fetal life
• Production of opsonins, properdin, and tuftsin.
• Release of neutrophils following myocardial infarction.{{cite web|url=https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cvr/cvac012/6522118 |title=Rapid neutrophil mobilization by VCAM-1+ endothelial cell-derived extracellular vesicles | Cardiovascular Research | Oxford Academic |publisher=Academic.oup.com |date= |accessdate=2022-02-15}}
• Creation of red blood cells. While the bone marrow is the primary site of hematopoiesis in the adult, the spleen has important hematopoietic functions up until the fifth month of gestation. After birth, erythropoietic functions cease, except in some hematologic disorders. As a major lymphoid organ and a central player in the reticuloendothelial system, the spleen retains the ability to produce lymphocytes and, as such, remains a hematopoietic organ.
• Storage of red blood cells, lymphocytes and other formed elements. The spleen of horses stores roughly 30 percent of the red blood cells and can release them when needed.{{cite news | first=Bjorn | last=Carey | url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12648465 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415114535/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12648465/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=April 15, 2015 | title=Horse science: What makes a Derby winner – Spleen acts as a 'natural blood doper,' scientist says | publisher=NBC News | date=May 5, 2006 | access-date=2006-05-09}} In humans, up to a cup (240 ml) of red blood cells is held within the spleen and released in cases of hypovolemia{{cite web |url=https://chp.edu/CHP/organs+spleen+functions |title=Spleen: Information, Surgery and Functions |publisher=Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh |website= Chp.edu |date=2010-11-17 |access-date=2011-04-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926085253/http://www.chp.edu/CHP/organs+spleen+functions |archive-date=2011-09-26 }} and hypoxia.{{cite journal|last1=Lodin-Sundström|first1=Angelica|last2=Schagatay|first2=Erika|title=Spleen contraction during 20 min normobaric hypoxia and 2 min apnea in humans|journal=Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine|date=June 2010|volume=8|issue=6|pages=545–49|doi=10.3357/ASEM.2682.2010|pmid=20540444}} It can store platelets in case of an emergency and also clears old platelets from the circulation. Up to a quarter of lymphocytes are stored in the spleen at any one time.

File:Spleen after spleenectomy.jpg-enlarged spleen taken after splenectomy]]

{{Main|Splenomegaly}}

Enlargement of the spleen is known as splenomegaly. It may be caused by sickle cell anemia, sarcoidosis, malaria, bacterial endocarditis, leukemia, polycythemia vera, pernicious anemia, Gaucher's disease, leishmaniasis, Hodgkin's disease, Banti's disease, hereditary spherocytosis, cysts, glandular fever (including mononucleosis or 'Mono' caused by the Epstein–Barr virus and infection from cytomegalovirus), and tumours. Primary tumors of the spleen include hemangiomas and hemangiosarcomas. Marked splenomegaly may result in the spleen occupying a large portion of the left side of the abdomen.

The spleen is the largest collection of lymphoid tissue in the body. It is normally palpable in preterm infants, in 30% of normal, full-term neonates, and in 5% to 10% of infants and toddlers. A spleen easily palpable below the costal margin in any child over the age of three to four years should be considered abnormal until proven otherwise.

Splenomegaly can result from antigenic stimulation (e.g., infection), obstruction of blood flow (e.g., portal vein obstruction), underlying functional abnormality (e.g., hemolytic anemia), or infiltration (e.g., leukemia or storage disease, such as Gaucher's disease). The most common cause of acute splenomegaly in children is viral infection, which is transient and usually moderate. Basic work-up for acute splenomegaly includes a complete blood count with differential, platelet count, and reticulocyte and atypical lymphocyte counts to exclude hemolytic anemia and leukemia. Assessment of IgM antibodies to viral capsid antigen (a rising titer) is indicated to confirm Epstein–Barr virus or cytomegalovirus. Other infections should be excluded if these tests are negative.

Calculators have been developed for measurements of spleen size based on CT, US, and MRI findings.

{{Main|Splenic injury}}

Trauma, such as a road traffic collision, can cause rupture of the spleen, which is a situation requiring immediate medical attention.

{{Main|Asplenia}}

Asplenia refers to a non-functioning spleen, which may be congenital, or caused by traumatic injury, surgical resection (splenectomy) or a disease such as sickle cell anaemia. Hyposplenia refers to a partially functioning spleen. These conditions may cause a modest increase in circulating white blood cells and platelets, a diminished response to some vaccines, and an increased susceptibility to infection. In particular, there is an increased risk of sepsis from polysaccharide encapsulated bacteria. Encapsulated bacteria inhibit binding of complement or prevent complement assembled on the capsule from interacting with macrophage receptors. Phagocytosis needs natural antibodies, which are immunoglobulins that facilitate phagocytosis either directly or by complement deposition on the capsule. They are produced by IgM memory B cells (a subtype of B cells) in the marginal zone of the spleen.{{cite journal|last=Di Sabatino|first=A|author2=Carsetti, R |author3=Corazza, GR |title=Post-splenectomy and hyposplenic states|journal=Lancet|date=Jul 2, 2011|volume=378|issue=9785|pages=86–97|pmid=21474172|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61493-6|s2cid=30554953}}{{cite journal|last=Carsetti|first=R|author2=Rosado, MM |author3=Wardmann, H |title=Peripheral development of B cells in mouse and man|journal=Immunological Reviews|date=February 2004|volume=197|pages=179–91|pmid=14962195|doi=10.1111/j.0105-2896.2004.0109.x|s2cid=20654498}}

A splenectomy (removal of the spleen) results in a greatly diminished frequency of memory B cells.{{cite journal|last=Kruetzmann|first=S |author2=Rosado, MM |author3=Weber, H |author4=Germing, U |author5=Tournilhac, O |author6=Peter, HH |author7=Berner, R |author8=Peters, A |author9=Boehm, T |author10=Plebani, A |author11=Quinti, I |author12=Carsetti, R|title=Human immunoglobulin M memory B cells controlling Streptococcus pneumoniae infections are generated in the spleen|journal=The Journal of Experimental Medicine|date=Apr 7, 2003|volume=197|issue=7|pages=939–45|pmid=12682112|doi=10.1084/jem.20022020|pmc=2193885}} A 28-year follow-up of 740 World War II veterans whose spleens were removed on the battlefield showed a significant increase in the usual death rate from pneumonia (6 rather than the expected 1.3) and an increase in the death rate from ischemic heart disease (41 rather than the expected 30), but not from other conditions.{{Cite journal|pmid=69206|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(77)90132-5|title=Splenectomy and Subsequent Mortality in Veterans of the 1939–45 War|year=1977|last1=Dennis Robinette|first1=C.|last2=Fraumeni|first2=Josephf.|journal=The Lancet|volume=310|issue=8029|pages=127–29|s2cid=38605411}}

An accessory spleen is a small splenic nodule extra to the spleen usually formed in early embryogenesis. Accessory spleens are found in approximately 10 percent of the population{{cite book | last = Moore | first = Keith L. | author-link = Keith L. Moore | title = Clinically Oriented Anatomy | edition = 3rd | year = 1992 | publisher = Williams & Wilkins | location = Baltimore | isbn = 978-0-683-06133-8 | page = 187}} and are typically around 1 centimeter in diameter. Splenosis is a condition where displaced pieces of splenic tissue (often following trauma or splenectomy) autotransplant in the abdominal cavity as accessory spleens.{{cite journal | author = Abu Hilal M |author2=Harb A|author3=Zeidan B|author4=Steadman B|author5=Primrose JN|author6= Pearce NW | date = January 5, 2009 | title = Hepatic splenosis mimicking HCC in a patient with hepatitis C liver cirrhosis and mildly raised alpha feto protein; the important role of explorative laparoscopy | journal = World Journal of Surgical Oncology | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | pmid = 19123935 | pmc = 2630926 | doi = 10.1186/1477-7819-7-1

| page = 1 |doi-access=free }}

Polysplenia is a congenital disease manifested by multiple small accessory spleens,{{DorlandsDict|seven/000085247|polysplenia}} rather than a single, full-sized, normal spleen. Polysplenia sometimes occurs alone, but it is often accompanied by other developmental abnormalities such as intestinal malrotation or biliary atresia, or cardiac abnormalities, such as dextrocardia. These accessory spleens are non-functional.

{{Main|Splenic infarction}}

Splenic infarction is a condition in which blood flow supply to the spleen is compromised,{{citation | last1=Chapman | first1=J | last2=Bhimji | first2=SS | title=Splenic Infarcts | chapter=article-29380 | publisher=StatPearls Publishing | location=Treasure Island (FL) | year=2018 | pmid=28613652 | url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430902/ | access-date=2019-02-27 }} leading to partial or complete infarction (tissue death due to oxygen shortage) in the organ.{{cite journal |vauthors=Jaroch MT, Broughan TA, Hermann RE |title=The natural history of splenic infarction |journal=Surgery |volume=100 |issue=4 |pages=743–50 |date=October 1986 |pmid=3764696 }}

Splenic infarction occurs when the splenic artery or one of its branches are occluded, for example by a blood clot. Although it can occur asymptomatically, the typical symptom is severe pain in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen, sometimes radiating to the left shoulder. Fever and chills develop in some cases.{{Cite journal |last1=Nores |first1=M1 |last2=Phillips |first2=EH |last3=Morgenstern |first3=L |last4=Hiatt |first4=JR |date=February 1998 |title=The Clinical Spectrum of Splenic Infarction |journal=The American Surgeon |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=182–88 |pmid=9486895}} It has to be differentiated from other causes of acute abdomen.

The spleen may be affected by hyaloserositis, in which it is coated with fibrous hyaline.[http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?hyaloserositis "Hyaloserositis"]. Online Medical Dictionary. Accessed on: June 21, 2008.{{cite web |url=https://www.drugs.com/dict/sugar-coated-spleen.html |title=Sugar-coated spleen |publisher=Drugs.com }}

There has been a long and varied history of misconceptions regarding the physiological role of the spleen, and it has often been seen as a reservoir for juices closely linked to digestion.{{cite journal |vauthors=Riva MA, Ferraina F, Paleari A, Lenti MV, Di Sabatino A |title=From sadness to stiffness: the spleen's progress |journal=Internal and Emergency Medicine |volume=14 |issue=5 |pages=739–743 |date=2019 |pmid=31152307 |doi=10.1007/s11739-019-02115-2 |s2cid=172137672 |url=}} In various cultures, the organ has been linked to melancholia, due to the influence of ancient Greek medicine and the associated doctrine of humourism, in which the spleen was believed to be a reservoir for an elusive fluid known as "black bile" (one of the four humours). The spleen also plays an important role in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is considered to be a key organ that displays the Yin aspect of the Earth element (its Yang counterpart is the stomach). In contrast, the Talmud (tractate Berachoth 61b) refers to the spleen as the organ of laughter while possibly suggesting a link with the humoral view of the organ.

Etymologically, spleen comes from the Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|σπλήν}} (splḗn), where it was the idiomatic equivalent of the heart in modern English. Persius, in his satires, associated spleen with immoderate laughter. The native Old English word for it is {{wikt-lang|en|milt}}, now primarily used for animals; a loanword from Latin is {{wikt-lang|en|lien}}.

In English, William Shakespeare frequently used the word spleen to signify melancholy, but also caprice and merriment. In Julius Caesar, he uses the spleen to describe Cassius's irritable nature:

Must I observe you? must I stand and crouch

Under your testy humour? By the gods

You shall digest the venom of your spleen,

Though it do split you; for, from this day forth,

I'll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter,

When you are waspish.Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare Act 4:1

The spleen, as a byword for melancholy, has also been considered an actual disease.{{cite journal |vauthors=Bynum B |title=The spleen |journal=Lancet |volume=359 |page=1624 |date=2002 |issue=9317 |pmid=12048004 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08479-9 |s2cid=33529100 |url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(02)08479-9/fulltext |url-access=registration}} In the early 18th century, the physician Richard Blackmore considered it to be one of the two most prevalent diseases in England (along with consumption). In 1701, Anne Finch (later, Countess of Winchilsea) had published a Pindaric ode, The Spleen, drawing on her first-hand experiences of an affliction which, at the time, also had a reputation of being a fashionably upper-class disease of the English.{{cite journal |last1=Rogers KM |title=Finch's "Candid Account" vs. Eighteenth–Century Theories of the Spleen |journal=Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature |date=1989 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=17–27 |jstor=24780450 |issn=0027-1276}} Both Blackmore and George Cheyne treated this malady as the male equivalent of "the vapours", while preferring the more learned terms "hypochondriasis" and "hysteria".Cheyne, George: The English Malady; or, A Treatise of Nervous Diseases of All Kinds, as Spleen, Vapours, Lowness of Spirits, Hypochondriacal and Hysterical Distempers with the Author's Own Case at Large, Dublin, 1733. Facsimile ed., ed. Eric T. Carlson, M.D., 1976, Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, {{ISBN|978-0-8201-1281-7}}Blackmore, Richard: Treatise of the spleen and vapors. London, 1725 In the late 18th century, the German word Spleen came to denote eccentric and hypochondriac tendencies that were thought to be characteristic of English people.{{cite book |author=Stanley Eric | authorlink=Eric Stanley |editor=Coleman J, McDermott A |title=Historical dictionaries and historical Dictionary Research: Papers from the international conference on historical lexicography and lexicology, at the University of Leicester, 2002 |date=2002 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |location=Germany |isbn=978-3-11-091260-9 |pages=170–171 |url= |language=en |chapter=Polysemy and synomyny and how these concepts were understood from the eighteenth century onwards in treatises, and applied dictionaries of English}}

In French, "splénétique" refers to a state of pensive sadness or melancholy. This usage was popularised by the poems of Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) and his collection Le Spleen de Paris, but it was also present in earlier 19th-century Romantic literature.

The spleen is one of the many organs that may be included in offal. It is not widely eaten as a principal ingredient, but cow spleen sandwiches are eaten in Sicilian cuisine.{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/05/spleen-sandwiches-an-italian-tradition/39761/|publisher=The Atlantic|access-date=2022-01-03|date=2010-05-03|first=Tejal|last=Rao|title=Spleen Sandwiches: An Italian Tradition}} Chicken spleen is one of the main ingredients of Jerusalem mixed grill.{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/culture/arts-leisure/dining-out-mixed-jerusalem-grill-in-tel-aviv-1.216305 |title=Dining Out / Mixed Jerusalem grill in Tel Aviv |first=Daniel|last=Rogov |publisher=Haaretz |date=2007-03-22 |access-date=2022-01-03}}

File:Horse_spleen_laparoscopic.jpg view of a horse's spleen (the purple and grey mottled organ)]]

In cartilaginous and ray-finned fish, the spleen consists primarily of red pulp and is normally somewhat elongated, as it lies inside the serosal lining of the intestine. In many amphibians, especially frogs, it has the more rounded form and there is often a greater quantity of white pulp.{{cite book |author=Romer, Alfred Sherwood|author2=Parsons, Thomas S.|year=1977 |title=The Vertebrate Body |publisher=Holt-Saunders International |location= Philadelphia |pages= 410–11|isbn= 978-0-03-910284-5}}

In reptiles, birds, and mammals, white pulp is always relatively plentiful, and in birds and some mammals the spleen is typically rounded, but it adjusts its shape somewhat to the arrangement of the surrounding organs. In most vertebrates, the spleen continues to produce red blood cells throughout life; only in mammals this function is lost in middle-aged adults. Many mammals have tiny spleen-like structures known as haemal nodes throughout the body that are presumed to have the same function as the spleen. The spleens of aquatic mammals differ in some ways from those of fully land-dwelling mammals; in general they are bluish in colour. In cetaceans and manatees, they tend to be quite small, but in deep diving pinnipeds, they can be massive, due to their function of storing red blood cells.

Marsupials have y-shaped spleens, and it develops postnatally. {{cite journal |vauthors= Old JM, Selwood L, Deane EM | title= Development of the lymphoid tissues of the stripe-faced dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura). |journal=Cells Tissues Organs|year=2002| volume=175|issue=4|pages=192-201|doi=10.1111/j.0021-8782.2004.00310.x |pmc=1571326}} {{cite journal |vauthors= Old JM, Selwood L, Deane EM | title= A developmental investigation of the liver, bone marrow and spleen of the stripe-faced dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura). |journal=Developmental and Comparative Immunology. |year=2004| volume=28|issue=4|pages=347-355|doi=10.1016/j.dci.2003.08.004 }} {{cite journal |vauthors= Old JM, Selwood L, Deane EM | title= The appearance and distribution of mature T and B cells in the developing immune tissues of the stripe-faced dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura). |journal=Journal of Anatomy|year=2004| volume=205|issue=1|pages=25-33|doi=10.1111/j.0021-8782.2004.00310.x |pmc=1571326}} {{cite journal |vauthors= Old JM, Deane EM | title= The detection of mature T and B-cells during development of the lymphoid tissues of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii). |journal=Cells Tissues Organs|year=2003| volume=203|issue=1|pages=123-131|doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2003.00207.x |pmc=1571143}}

The only vertebrates lacking a spleen are the lampreys and hagfishes (the early-branching Cyclostomata, or jawless fishes). Even in these animals, there is a diffuse layer of haematopoeitic tissue within the gut wall, which has a similar structure to red pulp and is presumed homologous with the spleen of higher vertebrates.

In mice, the spleen stores half the body's monocytes so that, upon injury, they can migrate to the injured tissue and transform into dendritic cells and macrophages to assist wound healing.{{Cite journal|pmid=19644120|year=2009|last1=Swirski|first1=FK|last2=Nahrendorf|first2=M|last3=Etzrodt|first3=M|last4=Wildgruber|first4=M|last5=Cortez-Retamozo|first5=V|last6=Panizzi|first6=P|last7=Figueiredo|first7=JL|last8=Kohler|first8=RH|last9=Chudnovskiy|first9=A|last10=Waterman|first10=P|last11=Aikawa|first11=E|last12=Mempel|first12=TR|last13=Libby|first13=P|last14=Weissleder|first14=R|last15=Pittet|first15=MJ|title=Identification of splenic reservoir monocytes and their deployment to inflammatory sites|volume=325|issue=5940|pages=612–16|doi=10.1126/science.1175202|pmc=2803111|journal=Science|bibcode=2009Sci...325..612S}}

File:Gray1189.png|Transverse section of the spleen, showing the trabecular tissue and the splenic vein and its tributaries

File:Slide2ii.JPG|Spleen

File:Spleen.jpg|Laparoscopic view of human spleen

• {{annotated link|Asplenia with cardiovascular anomalies}}
• {{annotated link|Spleen transplantation}}
• {{annotated link|Splenic aspiration}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Wiktionary|spleen}}

{{Commons|Spleen}}

• {{SUNYAnatomyFigs|38|03|01}} – "The visceral surface of the spleen."
• {{SUNYAnatomyImage|7|8|81}}
• [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9069185/spleen "spleen"] from Encyclopædia Britannica Online
• [https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/spleen.html "The Spleen (for Parents)"], from KidsHealth.org
• [https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spleendiseases.html "Spleen Diseases"] from MedlinePlus
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/science/04angier.html "Finally, the Spleen Gets Some Respect"] – The New York Times
• [https://radiology-universe.org/calculator/pediatric-spleen-sizes/calculator.php Normal range of spleen size for a given age in children]

{{Spleen}}

{{Lymphoid system}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Abdomen

Category:Glands

Category:Immune system

Category:Lymphatic system

Category:Lymphatics of the torso

Category:Lymphoid organ

Category:Organs (anatomy)