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. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that produces antibodies, special proteins that weaken or kill bacteria, viruses, and other organisms that cause infection.
Antibodies and white blood cells also stop infections from spreading through the body by trapping germs and destroying them. As you've seen, your spleen is a very useful organ, but it is not vital. Sometimes, a person's spleen does have to be surgically removed. This may be because the spleen becomes injured, or it may be taken out in the course of transplanting other organs.
Other parts of your body, like your lymph nodes and your liver , are able to step in and take over many of your spleen's functions. Because the spleen is so important to your immune system, people without spleens are more vulnerable to infections. This is why your doctor may tell you to take extra precautions, such as getting vaccinations, once your spleen has been removed. You will also be prescribed oral antibiotics to take daily; this is another way to prevent infection.
Still, it's not uncommon to be without a spleen, and many people are able to enjoy full lives without one. Learn more about the liver and its functions. Jan Blice Phone: Email: joanne. Apne doubts clear karein ab Whatsapp par bhi. Try it now. Ab clear karein apne doubts Whatsapp par bhi. Apna phone number register karein. Ab aap Whatsapp pe solutions paa saktey h, hum aapko message karenge. Ab aap Whatsapp pe solutions paa saktey h, hum aapko ping karenge.
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