CONSTRUCTORS of structures such as bridges recognize the need to provide a safety margin. The structure must be robust enough not only to withstand the maximum expected loads, but also to have an additional safety margin for unforeseen stresses that you may have to endure. However, bridge builders are not the first to consider a safety margin. The Creator, has provided our body with a margin of safety factors.

In many ways, the spleen can be said to be a safe organ. Until the age of two, a child can succumb to an infection if the spleen is removed. But after that, if the spleen is surgically removed, other parts of the body apparently take on many of its functions.

About 1800 years ago, Galen, one of the leading doctors of the time, said that "the spleen is an organ full of mysteries". The story goes that Rudolf Virchow, a leading 19th-century pathologist, once asked a medical student in his class about the function of the spleen. The student stammered and said he knew what it was, but he had forgotten. "What a pity!" Virchow shouted. "Here, finally, we have a boy who knew why we have a spleen and now he forgot!" And there is still a lot about the spleen that is unclear, as can be seen, for example, by the difference in medical opinion about how blood from the spleen passes from the arteries to the veins.

characteristics

It can be said that there is no organ in the body other than the spleen. The organ itself is insensitive to pain, being like the brain in that sense. It looks like a gland, but it doesn't belong to the glands that have ducts, because it doesn't have them, nor to those that don't have ducts, because it doesn't produce hormones. You have rhythmic contractions two to five times a minute.

Where's our spleen? In the upper part of the abdomen, just below the diaphragm that separates the organs of the chest from the abdomen. You could say it looks like a small folded hand. In adults, it is about six inches long, three inches wide and an inch and a half thick; on average, it weighs about seven ounces. It is purple or dark red in color and has a resilient elastic outer shell or "capsule". The spleen is very adaptable and can change in size depending on the workload, the circumstances and even the temperature.

What the spleen does can be seen to some extent by this very correct description: “It is a mixed manufacturing workshop, a filtration unit, a waste disposal and recovery facility and a reservoir.”

A manufacturing workshop

For a start, the spleen is a factory. Even before the third month of fetal development, the spleen begins to function, producing white and red blood cells. However, after birth, the baby's spleen only produces white blood cells called lymphocytes. But what a manufacturer he is! Blood is said to be sixty times richer in white blood cells when it leaves the spleen than when it enters.

As a factory, the spleen also produces antibodies, small particles in the blood that are used to boost the body's immunity. And the spleen produces a substance that helps the body fight the effects of radiation. The products "manufactured" in this "store" are truly precious.

A filtration unit

The spleen is also a filter unit. It shares with the liver the filtration of waste products in the blood, such as harmful organisms, used red blood cells and platelets. It has a large artery that is apparently out of proportion to its size. But this is very necessary, according to the fact that the whole body's blood supply, for five to six quarters, passes through the spleen every ninety minutes.

This filtration is largely carried out by the cells that line the blood channels. The ability to do this confuses scientists. They tell us, "We still don't know what the inherent ability of these cells is that makes them so sensitive: it's almost like a human observer, a factory inspector looking for defects in a product."

A waste disposal and recovery plant

After all these unnecessary, harmful or at least imperfect elements are filtered out of the blood, the problem arises of getting rid of them and keeping what can be recovered. The spleen also performs these tasks through some of its cells. Red blood cells have a half-life of 127 days. To ensure adequate supply to the body, the red bone marrow must produce 2.5 million of these cells every second of every hour of the day and night. Therefore, to avoid impeding blood flow, a similar amount, about 2.5 million empty cells, must be removed every second. Well, the spleen (along with the liver) has been observed to be "an excellent example of dynamic balance". For this reason, the spleen is also referred to as a “red blood cell graveyard”. The cells that destroy old, worn-out red blood cells that dwell in the spleen are called macrophages, meaning "big eaters." Cells that attack harmful organisms are called phagocytes, which means 'cell eaters'. Towards the end of an infectious disease attack, these cells become filled with the organisms that caused the disease.

Iron is recovered by removing depleted red blood cells. When the cells destroying depleted cells fill with iron, they travel to the red bone marrow and deposit the extracted iron there for further use. It is true that the spleen does not waste anything. The cells are said to be more efficient than liver cells, but the liver does more of this work by having many more of these cells.

A reservoir

The spleen is also a reservoir. As small and healthy as the spleen is, it can expand to contain up to a liter of blood. When we exercise intensively, our spleen contracts to supply extra blood to the muscles. In addition, in the event of sudden blood loss, such as bleeding or injury, the spleen immediately compensates for the loss, as much as possible by removing almost all circulating blood. Likewise, when a person accustomed to living at low altitudes moves at great altitudes, the spleen immediately sends additional reserves of red blood cells into the bloodstream; More is needed because of the lack of oxygen in the air. But after a while the red cord and heart adjust to take on this growing burden.

In the past, the spleen was associated with emotions, such as when someone talks about an angry person throwing the spleen at someone. It seems this point is welcome because when a human or animal is in the throes of fear or strong anger, the spleen immediately contracts, circulating extra blood to fortify the body in case of 'emergency. Thus, experiments have shown that the spleen of a dog chasing cats contracts and enters its contents into the dog's bloodstream when it smells like a feather duster that has been in contact with cats or when it hears the meow of a cat.

When something is wrong

Less than 40 years ago, a surgeon first removed the spleen of a patient with hemolytic anemia, with apparently favorable results. This surgery resulted in a significant increase in spleen examination. It also seemed to temporarily put it in vogue in removed spleens. Today, however, much less spleen is removed. First, it was discovered that, in these cases, the failure was related to the body's production of faulty red blood cells.

However, in certain diseases, doctors may recommend removal of the spleen, especially if it is severely enlarged. There is one case where the spleen went from six ounces to twenty pounds, a fifty-fold increase! He ... it was as if the woman had a large baby in her womb! But it is rare. In fact, the tumors rarely affected the spleen that was called an anticancer.

Today, most spleen harvesting operations are the result of serious accidents, such as those caused by car accidents or skiing accidents. If the splenic capsule ruptures, blood enters the abdomen and may require surgery to prevent the patient from bleeding to death. Or it can be damaged inside the capsule, causing the blood to fill until the capsule ruptures, possibly with similar fatal results. On the other hand, in shock, when the blood apparently disappears from the circulation without reason and the patient turns pale and loses consciousness, the spleen swelled with blood.

The spleen has some really valuable purposes. Although the body can adapt to withdrawal, it provides valuable services. In fact, it is "a production workshop, a filtration unit, a waste disposal facility, and a tank."