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The spleen contains two types of tissues with different functions: white pulp and red pulp. This article shall discuss the function of each tissue within the spleen as well as relevant clinical conditions.
Function. What does the spleen do? Your spleen: Stores blood. Filters blood by removing cellular waste and getting rid of old or damaged blood cells. Makes white blood cells and antibodies that help you fight infection. Maintains the levels of fluid in your body. Produces antibodies that protect you against infection. Anatomy.
White pulp is a histological designation for regions of the spleen (named because it appears whiter than the surrounding red pulp on cross section), that encompasses approximately 25% of splenic tissue. White pulp consists entirely of lymphoid tissue.
The white pulp of the spleen is made of three different compartments: Periarterial lymphoid sheath (PALS), lymphoid follicles and the marginal zone. The PALS consists of a central artery (a branch of the splenic artery ) surrounded by a sheath of lymphoid tissue.
The parenchyma of the spleen is called pulp. Based on the color of the pulp on fresh sections, white and red pulp can be distinguished. White pulp is the main lymphoid tissue of the spleen. It is the accumulation of lymphocytes around an arterial vessel.
The white pulp is part of the infection-fighting system (immune system). It produces white blood cells called lymphocytes, which in turn produce antibodies (specialized proteins that protect against invasion by foreign substances). The red pulp filters the blood, removing unwanted material.
View Patient Education. By structure and function, the spleen is essentially 2 organs: The white pulp, consisting of periarterial lymphatic sheaths and germinal centers, acts as an immune organ. The red pulp, consisting of macrophages and granulocytes lining vascular spaces (the cords and sinusoids), acts as a phagocytic organ.
The white pulp has the following function: The white pulp is responsible for the active immune response through both humoral and cell-mediated pathways. lymphocyte recirculation: A large number of lymphocytes in the spleen are considered as migratory cells. These lymphocytes are carried to the spleen via the blood.
White pulp is responsible for active immune response by synthesizing antibodies. The spleen removes some bacteria from the bloodstream, particularly those that cause pneumonia. The spleen holds extra blood that can help during hypovolemic shock.
The spleen is divided by function and structure into the red pulp (RP) and white pulp (WP); in between these two regions is the marginal zone (MZ) in rodents and the perifollicular zone in humans (Fig. 1) (1, 2).