WebMD 1:01: What Does Your Spleen Do?

Everyone knows what the heart does--

Pumps blood.

--what the stomach does.

Breaks down food.

How about the spleen?

I know it's bad when it ruptures.

Let's bring in the magic window.

What? What is this? What's going on?

Don't worry about it. Check this out. The spleen's that soft, purple organ located right behind the stomach and under the lungs.

It's about five inches wide and weighs about six ounces.

Now, here's a fun fact that'll impress your friends. You can actually live without your spleen. Why? Because your other organs would step up.

Really? Then why am I lugging this stupid spleen around if I don't need it?

Well, it's definitely better to have one, because it stores blood and helps fight serious infections. But its main job is to act like a filter for your blood.

Healthy blood cells flow through the spleen no problem. Bada-bing, bada-boom. But the damaged and dead cells get caught in a series of narrow passageways and then get broken down. [COUGHING]

So essentially, the spleen's kind of like a bad ass bouncer for your blood.

Yeah, it kind of is. And it also filters out bacteria and viruses, creating white blood cells to help fight infection.

So a spleen cleans up your blood, produces the essentials to battle infection, and keeps some blood in storage for you.

Congratulations. You're now a certified "spleenologist." [BELL RINGING] Oh, my spleen.

That's got to hurt. [MUSIC PLAYING]