Spleen: in Situ View – Pancreas and Spleen

00:00 So the spleen. The Spleen is really important because it’s associated with being a reservoir of blood, It's responsible for releasing blood with hemorrhagic shock and it’s also important lymphoid tissue.

00:16 We can see the spleen up here. It’s quite difficult to see in the anterior aspect.

00:20 But the spleen which would be in this region here.

00:23 It’s positioned against ribs 9, 10 and 11. So we can see ribs 12, 11 rib 12, 11, 10, 9. So they are the ribs that the spleen sits against.

00:38 which means if these ribs were to be fractured then they can actually penetrate the spleen.

00:43 So largest lymphatic organ and that is its main function and its intrapertoneal.

00:49 It is suspended via two peritoneal ligaments, the splenorenal and the gastrosplenic.

00:56 It forms the left boundary, as we are aware of the omental bursa.

01:01 Its relationship is next to the stomach, is next to the left kidney.

01:06 And its next to the splenic flexure of the colon where the transverse becomes the descending.

01:13 It also filters blood, acts as a reservoir, as I mentioned. And essentially it acts as a large lymph node.

01:19 So in situ, the spleen which we can see here, is nicely tucked up against the greater curvature of the stomach. And that is why it is associated with the stomach.

01:30 And we can see here the tail of the pancreas is running towards the hilum of the spleen.

01:36 If we look at the spleen in isolation, then we have got this inferior border here.

01:41 And we have the superior border. We can see that it has the various impressions So this impression inferiorly here, is where the kidney, is where the kidney would be located.

01:52 And then we have an impression where the stomach would be located. And then we also have an impression where the splenic flexure of the colon would be located.

02:02 Its diaphragmatic is relatively smooth sitting against the left aspects of the diaphragm, just inferior to the left dome of the diaphragm.