The spleen and its physiologic role; are we teaching for students?

Despite having important clinical significance, the spleen is often a neglected internal organ especially in the medical physiology teaching. The present personal view is aimed to present the current understanding of the functioning of the spleen and the culture of teaching practices about spleen. The spleen is an intra-peritoneal organ located directly below the diaphragm connected to the stomach. It is one of the most perfused organs in the body. It consists of white pulp which is specialized in holding aggregation of lymphoid tissues, the red pulp having reticular meshworkings designed to destruct old, damaged and aberrant erythrocytes and the marginal zone lying between the red and the white pulp where foreign particles including microorganism are eliminated. The spleen, having such anatomical specializations, helps to perform wide arrays of activities ranging from successful induction of specific immunity through trapping, transportation, processing and presentation of antigens, recycling of iron and phagocytosis of senescent or damage red blood cells (RBCs) and pathogens. In conclusion, the basic knowledge of the anatomical and functional aspects of the spleen is essential for the assessment of its role in disease process and therefore, for the better understanding of the functions of spleen, teaching and incorporating the physiology of it in physiology syllabus is imperative.