The spleen is a contractile reservoir of blood. Some conclusions for the clinic

IF du Bois-Reymond in the middle of the last century found it difficult to say anything definite about the role of the spleen in the body, at present the situation has changed quite significantly. After much painstaking work, the haze surrounding this organ and hiding its functions gradually dissipates. But there is still a lot left for future researchers to work in this direction. The spleen was of interest to researchers from various points of view: blood formation (the participation of the spleen itself in hematopoiesis, its effect on the bone marrow), blood destruction, its role in the body's fight against infections, in metabolism, the relationship to the function of the digestive organs, etc. Over the past 50 years, relatively much has been done to clarify the physiology of the spleen as a contractile organ capable of changing its volume, its blood supply to a large extent.