THE SPLEEN

373. What is the spleen, and what seems to be its office in the human system?HBH 177.1

The spleen is situated in the upper and back part of the abdominal cavity, on the left side, between the diaphragm and the left kidney. It is attached to the diaphragm, the stomach, and the ascending colon, in a loose manner, by folds of the peritoneum. It is extremely spongy, and is formed almost entirely of blood-vessels, lymphatics, and cells, woven together by cellular tissue, and surrounded by a very firm sero-fibrous membrane. It seems to be an appendage of the portal system, and its blood-vessels empty into the portal veins. The spleen seems to serve the purpose of a reservoir, to receive a portion of the blood when its volume is increased by a rapid flow through the liver, and to retain it till it can be acted upon by the liver.HBH 177.2