Guest guest Posted August 26, 2004 Report Share Posted August 26, 2004 Donna, The spleen is about the size of a large pear and lies just under the rib cage on the left hand side of your body. It has two major working parts. The first is a very fine network of blood vessels which filter the blood. These blood vessels are lined with professional killer cells (called phagocytes or macrophages) which are able to eat large foreign particles in the blood. The spleen is responsible for clearing out the debris such as old red blood cells. The other structural part of the spleen consists of special lymphoid tissue which makes specific immune, or defence, responses. Throughout life our immune systems develop antibodies and immunity to the infections and illnesses we encounter. Not having a spleen means that certain parts of the immune system no longer work as effectively, though many of the functions of the immune system can be performed in bone marrow and in lymph nodes all over the body. Without a spleen, it is not possible to create a new antibody to fight against a previously unencountered bacterium. Doc in Az. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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