ABSTRACT
The spleen is a lymphoid organ located in the retroperitoneum of the left upper quadrant beneath ribs 9 through 11. The spleen is normally not palpable on physical examination until it is enlarged. The spleen has three essential functions: filtering damaged cells from the blood, antibody production, and production of opsonins, which protect against encapsulated bacteria such as pneumococcus and other diseases such as malaria. Due to the spleen’s major immunologic functions, splenectomy becomes a concern for patients living in endemic areas of malaria or other infectious diseases.
