It is the most "silent" organ in the body, and once it gets sick it is a big deal!

Expert of this article: Li Zhao, Chief Physician and Associate Professor of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Peking University People's Hospital

There is an organ in the upper left part of the human abdominal cavity that is often overlooked by us. This organ is the spleen.

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There is a saying about the spleen: "If the spleen is not healthy, all kinds of diseases will arise." Why do we know so little about this organ? What are the functions of the spleen? Today, let's talk about this "silent" organ.

Why is the spleen called a “silent” organ?

The function of the spleen is not as well known as that of other organs such as the heart, lungs, and liver. In medicine, the most commonly mentioned rupture is caused by trauma - spleen rupture.

Severe spleen rupture requires a splenectomy, which seems to suggest that this organ is dispensable, so many people describe it as a "silent" organ.

In fact, the spleen is a very important lymphatic organ in the human body, which provides immunity for our body. It is located in the upper left abdomen, protected by the left costal arch, and cannot be touched normally.

The spleen of an adult is about 0.2% of body weight and weighs about 150g. When detected by ultrasound, the spleen is generally less than 13cm in size. Because it is brittle and has abundant blood flow, it is easy to rupture due to trauma, which can cause massive bleeding in the abdominal cavity.

What are the functions of the spleen?

The spleen is an important immune organ in our body, which is home to a large number of lymphocytes. When bacteria or viruses invade the body, they will be recognized and engulfed by lymphocytes and finally eliminated in the spleen. Therefore, the spleen builds a barrier for us to resist external pathogens.

The spleen can also remove old red blood cells and platelets. The spleen is like a blood filter, which maintains the balance of the body by removing old red blood cells and platelets from the blood, and plays a role in blood metabolism.

The spleen also has hematopoietic function. When there is a problem with the bone marrow and the hematopoietic function is weakened, the spleen can become a place for extra-bone marrow hematopoiesis and provide red blood cells to the body.

What are the signs of spleen damage?

1. The spleen generally does not actively "cause trouble". Most of the reasons for spleen damage are due to passive "involvement". For example, the most common spleen-related disease in clinical practice is spleen rupture caused by trauma. It is often seen in persistent pain after the left upper abdomen is hit, followed by abdominal distension and low blood pressure caused by intra-abdominal bleeding. If not treated in time, it can be life-threatening.

2. Some blood system diseases, liver diseases and primary spleen diseases can cause splenomegaly. The enlarged spleen can be felt in the left upper abdomen. Some giant spleens can directly hang down into the pelvic cavity, causing local distension and pain.

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The most common blood system disease that causes splenomegaly is lymphoma, followed by various types of acute and chronic leukemia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), hemolytic anemia, polycythemia vera, myelofibrosis, multiple myeloma, etc.

The most common liver disease that causes splenomegaly is cirrhosis, because cirrhosis can increase the pressure of splenic vein returning to the portal vein, causing splenic congestion, which in turn leads to splenomegaly and hypersplenism.

Hypersplenism will intensify the phagocytosis of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets in normal blood, resulting in a decrease in the three lineages. The patient's immunity will be significantly reduced, making him susceptible to infection and sometimes in a state of severe anemia. Very low platelet levels will cause spontaneous bleeding.

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Because the splenic vein passes through the pancreas, some pancreatic diseases such as pancreatic tumors and pancreatitis may also cause splenic venous reflux obstruction, resulting in congestion and enlargement of the spleen and hyperfunction.

Common primary diseases of the spleen include splenic cysts and splenic hemangiomas, which generally have no symptoms and are often discovered during physical examinations. Only when they grow particularly large will they cause local discomfort and compression symptoms.

How to protect the spleen?

In view of the above causes of spleen damage, we should focus on protecting the spleen from the following aspects:

Avoid direct impact of trauma

Especially when you feel discomfort in the left upper abdomen after strenuous activity, you should go to the hospital for examination in time to rule out the possibility of spleen rupture, so as to detect and treat it early.

Maintaining a balanced autoimmune state

The spleen is an immune organ, so this practice is the greatest protection for the spleen.

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Any bad living habits will affect the function of the spleen. For example, if you do not pay attention to daily hygiene and are exposed to too many pathogenic microorganisms, which exceed the processing capacity of the spleen, it will lead to infectious diseases.

Since the liver and pancreas are closely related to the spleen, protecting the liver and pancreas means protecting the spleen, such as eating a healthy diet, not drinking alcohol, and not staying up late.

Check your spleen regularly

After learning some scientific knowledge about the spleen, we should pay some attention to this "silent" organ located in the upper left abdomen. Through palpation, ultrasound examination and other means, we can detect spleen-related diseases at an early stage and carefully protect this "behind-the-scenes hero" in the human body.

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