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Spleen

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Encyclopedia of Pathology

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Anatomy

Spleen is an intraperitoneal supramesocolic organ, developed from the dorsal mesogastrium by the fifth week of gestation. It is located in the left hypochondrium, in the greater sac of the peritoneal cavity, beneath the 9th and the 11th intercostal spaces, and in a shallow pocket formed by the dome of the diaphragm (laterally and superiorly), the stomach (superiorly and medially), the left flexure of the colon and the phrenicocolic ligament (inferiorly), and the left kidney (posteriorly).

The spleen shape is variable as the organ fits tightly and accommodates itself with the adjacent organs but is often described as tetrahedron with three surfaces, three borders, and a base. Its major axis is parallel to the 10th left rib.

The diaphragmatic surface (posterolateral) is convex and smooth and in relation with the diaphragm and, through it, with the lower border of the left lung and the thoracic wall (9th to 12th rib). The gastric surface(anteromedial) is deeply concave and rests...

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References and Further Readings

  • Bronte, V., & Pittet, M. J. (2013). The spleen in local and systemic regulation of immunity. Immunity, 39(5), 806–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2013.10.010. (Bronte and Pittet, “The Spleen in Local and Systemic Regulation of Immunity.”).

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  • Buffet, P. A., Safeukui, I., Deplaine, G., Brousse, V., Prendki, V., Thellier, M., Turner, G. D., & Mercereau-Puijalon, O. (2011). The pathogenesis of Plasmodium Falciparum malaria in humans: Insights from splenic physiology. Blood, 117(2), 381–392. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2010-04-202911. (Buffet et al., “The Pathogenesis of Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria in Humans.”).

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  • Groom, A. C., Schmidt, E. E, & MacDonald, I. C. (1991). Microcirculatory pathways and blood flow in spleen: new insights from washout kinetics, corrosion casts, and quantitative intravital videomicroscopy. Scanning Microscopy, 5(1), 159–174.

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Correspondence to C. Roussel .

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Roussel, C., Dokmak, S., Molina, T.J., Buffet, P. (2019). Spleen. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_3826-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_3826-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

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