The spleen is an organ located in the upper left abdomen, and is roughly the size of a clenched fist. In the adult, the spleen functions mainly as a blood filter, removing old red blood cells. It also plays a role in both cell-mediated and humoral immune responses.
In this article, we shall look at the anatomy of the spleen – its anatomical position, structure and vasculature.
By TeachMeSeries Ltd (2023)
Fig 1 – The anatomical position of the spleen in the abdomen.
Anatomical Position
The spleen is located in the upper left quadrant of the abdomen, under cover of the diaphragm and the ribcage – and therefore cannot normally be palpated on clinical examination (except when enlarged). It is an intraperitoneal organ, entirely surrounded by peritoneum (except at the splenic hilum).
The spleen is connected to the stomach and kidney by parts of the greater omentum – a double fold of peritoneum that originates from the stomach:
- Gastrosplenic ligament – anterior to the splenic hilum, connects the spleen to the greater curvature of the stomach.
- Splenorenal ligament – posterior to the splenic hilum, connects the hilum of the spleen to the left kidney. The splenic vessels and tail of the pancreas lie within this ligament
Between these two ligaments is the lesser sac.