Where is Your Spleen Located

Our body has many parts and all the parts are assigned with a particular work. Spleen is one of the most important parts of the body. The word spleen has come from a Greek word Splen. Spleen is found in almost all the vertebrate animals. It helps in getting your body rid of old blood cells and at the time of emergency it also supplies blood to the body. It is also an important part of immune system. But do you know where exactly the spleen located in our body? Find out the location and function of spleen in the following paragraphs.

Where is the Spleen Located

Spleen is a very small organ, it is somewhat of the shape of your fist. It is located in the left side of your upper abdomen cavity. You cannot see or feel it as it is covered with cage of your ribs. The exact spleen location is near to 9th, 10th and 11th rib. Although its size and weight differ in every individual, normally it measures around 4 inches and weighs approximately 0.44 lbs in an adult. But when the spleen is affected with infection the size of the spleen increases which can create various spleen problems. Enlarged spleen is also known as splenomegaly. Diseases like malaria can also result in enlarged spleen.

Structure of the Spleen

Spleen is covered with a tough connective tissue capsule. Inside this capsule, there are two types of splenic tissues namely red pulp and white pulp. White pulp is made up of lymphoid tissue such as plasma cells, lymphocytes, and lymphatic nodules, etc. and red pulp is full of blood. This red pulp is responsible for the blood filtration. The two types of pulp are distributed evenly in all the areas of spleen but both have different functions to perform. The blood enters the spleen through the splenic artery.

Functions of the Spleen

Spleen is one of the most important parts of our body. It is associated with many significant functions without which the survival of our body can be in danger. It has multiple functions and as it is a very small organ it is always busy with the work it is assigned to. Following are some of the spleen functions.

• The most important function of the spleen is to destroy the old red blood cells. This is done in the red pulp. The blood passes through and the cells which are old enough i.e. are about to complete their life span of 120 days, are destroyed. The important element of the red blood cell which is iron, is saved by the spleen and is send to the bone marrow for the formation of new blood cells.
• Now comes the work of white pulp. We have discussed in the structure of spleen that white pulp is made up of plasma cells, lymphocytes, lymphatic nodules, etc. They combine and help the immune system of the body. They react with the microorganism present in the blood and form antibodies or phagocytic cells which destroy the microorganism and purify the blood. This saves us from further infection and diseases.
• Apart from these two important functions spleen also helps in the removal of damaged and worn off platelets from the blood.
• Spleen is although associated with the destruction of blood cells but at the time of emergency like accidents or bad cuts, they provide blood to the body. This is also a very important function of spleen.
• When the baby is inside the womb, spleen helps in the formation of blood but once the baby is born the function of formation of blood is transferred to the bone marrow. Hence this can also be included in the function of spleen.

Although spleen plays a very important role in the body, a person can also survive without a spleen. Sometimes, may be due to any spleen injury or accidents, the doctor might go for spleen removal. This can make you susceptible to infections but this doesn't mean you can't survive without a spleen. Your body will just need extra care in this situation and medical attention too. I hope this article have not only solved your query about where is your spleen located but have also informed you about the structure and function of the spleen.