What is the location of the spleen?
Your spleen is located in the upper left region of your abdomen – just behind your stomach and under your diaphragm. It is soft and purple, shaped like a very small smooth rounded catcher’s mitt with notches on its upper front edge.
Where is spleen located and give its four important functions?
The spleen sits in the upper left of the abdomen, protected by the rib cage. It is the largest organ of the lymphatic system — the circulation of the immune system. It recycles old red blood cells and stores platelets (components of the blood that help stop bleeding) and white blood cells.
What is function of spleen?
The spleen has some important functions: it fights invading germs in the blood (the spleen contains infection-fighting white blood cells) it controls the level of blood cells (white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets) it filters the blood and removes any old or damaged red blood cells.
What is one characteristic of the spleen?
The spleen is an organ in the upper far left part of the abdomen, to the left of the stomach. The spleen varies in size and shape between people, but it’s commonly fist-shaped, purple, and about 4 inches long. Because the spleen is protected by the rib cage, you can’t easily feel it unless it’s abnormally enlarged.
What are signs of a bad spleen?
Pain or fullness in the left upper abdomen that may spread to the left shoulder. Feeling full without eating or after eating only a small amount from the enlarged spleen pressing on your stomach. Anemia. Fatigue.
What is the job of the spleen?
One of the spleen’s main jobs is to filter your blood. It affects the number of red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout your body, and the number of platelets, which are cells that help your blood to clot. It does this by breaking down and removing cells that are abnormal, old, or damaged.
Do you actually need your spleen?
Yes , you can live without your spleen . It’s an important organ, but not essential. If it’s damaged by disease or injury, it can be removed without threatening your life. The surgery to remove your spleen is called a splenectomy. Your lymph nodes and liver can take over many of the spleen’s important functions.
What is it like to live without a spleen?
Although the spleen is important for many functions in the body, the spleen is not vital to survival and it is possible to live without a spleen. Without the spleen, other organs in the body (particularly the liver) adapt and increase their ability to fight infection and remove redundant red blood cells.
Can you live without a spleen?
Humans can live without a spleen because other organs — such as the liver — can take over the spleen’s function. However, people who have had their spleens removed are at greater risk of contracting serious infections.