Spleen where is it and what does it do

Your spleen is tucked below your rib cage next to your stomach on the left side of your belly. Its size generally relates to your height, weight and sex. An enlarged spleen affects each of these jobs. When it's enlarged, your spleen may not function as usual.

Anyone can develop an enlarged spleen at any age, but certain groups are at higher risk, including:. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Enlarged spleen Open pop-up dialog box Close. Enlarged spleen The spleen is a small organ usually about the size of your fist. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic.

Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Bona R. If the spleen doesn't work properly, it may start to remove healthy blood cells. This can lead to:. Spleen pain is usually felt as a pain behind your left ribs. It may be tender when you touch the area. This can be a sign of a damaged, ruptured or enlarged spleen. The spleen can become damaged or may rupture burst after a forceful blow to the abdomen, car accident, sporting accident or fracture to the ribs.

Sometimes, if you lie down and raise your legs, the pain can be felt at the tip of your left shoulder. A ruptured spleen is a medical emergency, as it can cause life-threatening bleeding. The spleen can become swollen after an infection or injury. It can also become enlarged as a result of a disease such as cirrhosis , leukaemia or rheumatoid arthritis. Doctors can often tell if you have an enlarged spleen by feeling your abdomen. The spleen is not usually removed if it's just enlarged.

Instead, you'll receive treatment for any underlying condition and your spleen will be monitored. Antibiotics may be prescribed if there's an infection. You'll need to avoid contact sports for a while, as you'll be at greater risk of rupturing the spleen while it is enlarged.

Surgery is only necessary if the enlarged spleen is causing serious complications or if the cause can't be found. An operation to remove the spleen, known as a splenectomy, may be needed if the spleen is damaged, diseased or enlarged. It may sometimes be more appropriate to have just part of your spleen removed — a partial splenectomy.

A laparoscope is long, thin, flexible instrument with its own light source. It is attached to a camera and will relay high definition, magnified pictures back to a TV screen to guide the surgeon's instruments. Laparoscopic splenectomy allows a surgeon to access the inside of your abdomen without having to make large incisions cuts in your skin.

However, you will still need a general anaesthetic. The incisions will then be stitched up or sometimes glued together. You may be able to go home the same day, or may need to stay in hospital overnight. If you go home the same day, someone will need to stay with you for the first 24 hours. Open surgery, where one large incision is made, may be needed if the spleen is too large or too damaged to be removed via keyhole surgery.

Often, in emergencies, this will be the preferred method to rapidly control bleeding. It's normal to feel sore and be bruised after a splenectomy, but you'll be given pain relief medication.

Like any operation, a splenectomy carries a small risk of complications, including bleeding and infection. You should be given breathing and leg movement exercises to do at home, to reduce your risk of getting a blood clot or a chest infection. Another risk is the surgical wound becoming infected. If you spot any signs of infection, contact your GP or hospital immediately, as you may need antibiotics.

Recovery usually takes a few weeks. Your doctor or nurse will advise when you can go back to your usual activities, such as driving. If your spleen needs to be removed, other organs such as the liver can take over many of the spleen's functions. Size and weight can vary greatly, but the average healthy adult's spleen is about five inches long, three inches wide, and one and a half inches thick.

A typical spleen weighs about six ounces when you are healthy. With some infections or other conditions, your spleen can become enlarged. When this happens, your spleen can balloon in weight to about four pounds.

This is because your spleen is highly vascular organ; it contains many vessels that carry and circulate fluids in your body. It works very closely with your blood and lymph, and can be affected by infection, malignancies, liver disease , parasites, and other conditions. As you've seen, your spleen is often on the "front lines" of your body; in fact, your spleen is a busy organ — especially considering its small size.

Your spleen's main function is to act as a filter for your blood. It recognizes and removes old, malformed, or damaged red blood cells. When blood flows into your spleen, your spleen performs "quality control"; your red blood cells must pass through a maze of narrow passages.

Healthy blood cells simply pass through the spleen and continue to circulate throughout your bloodstream. Blood cells that can't pass the test will be broken down in your spleen by macrophages. Macrophages are large white blood cells that specialize in destroying these unhealthy red blood cells. Always economical, your spleen saves any useful components from the old cells, such as iron. It stores iron in the form of ferritin or bilirubin, and eventually returns the iron to your bone marrow, where hemoglobin is made.

Hemoglobin is an important protein in your blood that transports oxygen from your lungs to all the parts of your body that need it. Another useful purpose of your spleen is storing blood. The blood vessels in human spleens are able to get wider or narrower, depending on your body's needs. When vessels are expanded, your spleen can actually hold up to a cup of reserve blood. If for any reason you need some extra blood — for example, if trauma causes you to lose blood — your spleen can respond by releasing that reserve blood back into your system.

Your spleen also plays an important part in your immune system, which helps your body fight infection. Just as it detects faulty red blood cells, your spleen can pick out any unwelcome micro-organisms like bacteria or viruses in your blood. When one of these invaders is detected in your bloodstream, your spleen, along with your lymph nodes, jumps to action and creates an army of defender cells called lymphocytes.