The spleen is part of your body’s lymphatic system. The lymphatic system helps remove cellular waste, maintain fluid balance, and make and activate infection-fighting white blood cells for the immune system. A 2016 research review showed that the spleen’s also responsible for making substances that play an important role in inflammation and healing.

The spleen sits in the upper left part of your abdomen. It’s located behind your ribs, under yourdiaphragm，上面和你的胃。

This fist-shaped, oblong organ is purple, and it weighs between 2.5 to 7 ounces 在健康的个体。它可以成为significantly larger when a person is sick or injured. Your spleen is involved in your body’s immune response, and in recycling old blood cells.

One of the spleen’s main jobs is to filter your blood. It affects the number of red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout your body, and the number of platelets, which are cells that help your blood to clot. It does this by breaking down and removing cells that are abnormal, old, or damaged.

The spleen also stores red blood cells, platelets, and infection-fighting white blood cells.

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The spleen plays an important role in your immune system response. When it detects bacteria, viruses, or other germs in your blood, it produces white blood cells, called lymphocytes, to fight off the infections that these cause.

The spleen islocatedin the upper left side of the abdomen. It can be found next to the stomach and behind the left ribs.

Many different conditions can cause the spleen to enlarge, especially diseases that cause blood cells to break down too quickly. An excess destruction of blood cells, for example, can overwork the spleen, and cause it to enlarge.

Other conditions that cause an enlarged spleen include :

当你的脾脏扩大时，它不能像曾经一样有效地过滤血液。它可能意外地滤除正常的红细胞和血小板，留下较少的健康血细胞。相同 2016 research review above showed that an enlargement of the spleen that leads to the destruction of too many blood cells is a condition called hypersplenism.

An enlarged spleen may not cause symptoms at first. Eventually, it can become painful. If your spleen enlarges too much, it can rupture. The spleen can also become injured or rupture immediately after a hard hit to the abdomen, a rib fracture, or other accident. This can lead to removal of the spleen.

Some spleen concerns, such as an enlarged spleen, can be detected through a physical exam performed by your doctor.

Your doctor may also 执行 an ultrasound orcomputed tomography (CT) scanto assess the size of your spleen.

A blood test can also be used to evaluate your liver function or determine if you have high levels ofwhite blood cellsin your body, which could indicate an infection.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can also detect tumors and cysts, or can be used to monitor blood flow through the spleen.

It’s difficult to protect the health of the spleen. While many causes of an enlarged spleen, such as cancer or blood cell abnormalities may be unavoidable, the United Kingdom’sNational Health Servicesays that there are many treatment options available for other spleen concerns, including:

  • Watchful waiting.如果您目前不经历任何症状，您的医生可能会等待看到脾脏是否关注自己的决定。他们可能建议在几个月内重新评估您的病情，如果您开始体验症状，则会更快。
  • 药物。Certain drugs, such asantibiotics, may be used to treat any underlying concerns that could be causing your enlarged spleen.
  • Diet and lifestyle changes.Making modifications to your diet and lifestyle may help improve certain conditions that can trigger spleen concerns, such as cirrhosis orrheumatoid arthritis. Generally, this involves eating plenty of nutrient-dense foods, limiting your intake of sodium, and getting regular physical activity.
  • Surgery.In severe cases,spleen removal可能是必要的,尤其是在扩大splee吗n is causing serious complications or other treatment options are limited.

There are also several ways to prevent an enlarged spleen, such as by avoiding infections or injuries that could damage it. Here are a few tips to try as best you can:

  • Don’t share personal items like silverware, toothbrushes, or drinks with other people, especially if you know they’ve been sick with an infection like mono.
  • If you play football or other contact sports, wear safety gear, including padding, to help protect your spleen and other organs from injury.
  • Use a condom or other barrier method when having sex with a new, untested partner to protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections.
  • If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation to protect your liver and avoid cirrhosis.
  • Wear your seatbelt whenever you drive or ride in a car.

If you do develop an enlarged spleen, consider following the treatment plan your doctor recommends. Try to avoid contact sports and other high-impact activities until cleared by your doctor.

TheNational Health Servicesays you can live without your spleen. It’s an important organ, but not essential. If it’s damaged by disease or injury, it can be removed without being life threatening. The surgery to remove your spleen is called a splenectomy.

你的淋巴结和肝脏可以接管许多脾脏的重要功能。然而，没有你的脾脏，上面的组织也表示，您将更有可能发展某些感染。如果你生病了，你可以比平时更长的时间来恢复。

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 说，根据您的年龄和整体健康，您的医生可能会推荐您获得这些疫苗：

Though your spleen isn’t a large organ, it plays many important roles in your body. It helps remove old and damaged blood cells, and it produces infection-fighting cells to protect your health. The spleen also makes certain substances that have an important role in inflammation and healing.

Infections and injuries can damage your spleen and cause it to enlarge or even rupture. If the damage is extensive, you might need surgery to remove your spleen. You can live a normal, healthy life without a spleen. But you’ll need to take extra precautions to prevent infections.