What is the spleen? Detailed answer

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What is the spleen? Detailed answer

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What is the spleen?

It is hard to believe that there is an organ in our body that we still know little about and that its functions are not yet fully understood. This organ is the spleen. There is one famous anecdote about the spleen. The professor, taking an exam in medicine, asked a student to name the functions of the spleen. The student replied: "Yesterday I knew them, but now everything has gone out of my head." The professor exclaimed: "This is terrible! Finally, there was a person who knew at least something about the spleen, and he forgot everything!" This, of course, is a joke, but it shows, with a certain amount of exaggeration, that the spleen is one of our most mysterious organs.

It is known, for example, that the spleen during childhood plays a role in the formation of blood and that it fights diseases of the blood and bone marrow, such as malaria and anemia. But here's what's interesting: if the spleen is removed from the body, these vital processes will still continue! It seems that other organs can take over the functions of the spleen. The spleen is a large organ in the abdomen, located next to the stomach but not part of the digestive system. Rather, it belongs to the circulatory system and, in principle, could be located in any other part of the body.

In a healthy person, about ten million red blood cells are destroyed in just one second. They have to be replaced by new ones, and three different organs are involved in this. The first is the bone marrow, the other is the liver, and the third is the spleen. The surplus of red cells, which can be useful in an emergency, is stored in the spleen, as in other organs. Old and unusable red cells enter the spleen and are destroyed there.

White bodies called lymphocytes are produced in the spleen and bone marrow. In the event of an unexpected large blood loss, the spleen produces a large number of red cells to replace the loss. As you can see, the spleen plays a very important role in the body.

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

What is suede?

In hardware stores, you can see a fabric called "suede" for sale. It is bought for its softness, for the fact that it does not scratch the surface when polished. Many people use it to polish the surfaces of cars and furniture.

Suede is a processed chamois skin. But since chamois are extremely rare, almost all "suede" sold in the US is well-finished sheepskin!

A long time ago, chamois lived on the plains of Europe. Over time, when they were practically exterminated because of their tasty meat and soft skin, the chamois moved to the mountainous regions. Now they can mainly be found in the Alps and the Pyrenees, at the very line of snowmelt.

Like the ibex of the Rocky Mountains in the United States, the chamois belongs to the antelopes. This is one of the most cautious animals with well-developed organs of vision and smell, which warn her of danger. When the chamois flees from danger through rocks and gorges, it acts more agile than an antelope, and more confident than a mountain goat!

Everyone who watched the chamois grazing in the mountains noted that while the whole herd is grazing, one of the chamois guards their peace. When danger appears, she emits a sharp whistle, and the whole herd disappears. When escaping, they jump over deep ravines and gorges, rising up and down along such slopes that are inaccessible to humans.

The chamois is about the size of a domestic goat and weighs about 30 kg. The gray or brown skin changes its color depending on the season, but, unlike other animals, they are light in summer and dark, almost black in winter. Albino chamois are rare. The inhabitants of the Alps believe that the one who killed the white chamois will die in a year - this will be his punishment from the gnomes and sorceresses.

An old female is usually at the head of a small herd. In summer, the herd mainly consists of females and young chamois. High in the mountains, males graze separately. The horns of the chamois are smooth, black, their ends are bent back and down.

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