An historical sketch of splenic function and splenectomy.
Ideas about the spleen's functions as a blood filter, reservoir, scavenger of red cells and immunologic communication center are traced from the ancients to the present.
D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D013154:Spleen / Q000502:physiology*; D013156:Splenectomy / Q000266:history*