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“spleen”
1. A spongy highly vascular organ situated near the stomach in humans which forms lymphocytes, produces antibodies, aids in destroying worn-out red cells from the vital body fluid, and purifies it from bacteria and foreign particles: The spleen acts as a filter against foreign organisms that can infect the bloodstream, and which also filters out old red blood cells from the bloodstream and decomposes them.
3. Etymology: from Greek and Latin , spleen, "the organ" and melancholy "the temperament, an expression of one's anger"; such as, by shouting, which came from the earlier belief that spleen was "the source of bad tempers."
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During stress or at other times when additional blood is needed, the spleen also acts as a blood reservoir as it contracts, forcing stored blood into circulation.
2. A bad mood; spitefulness: Historically spleen was considered the seat of passion or emotion, and so it resulted in the English expression "to vent one's spleen."3. Etymology: from Greek and Latin , spleen, "the organ" and melancholy "the temperament, an expression of one's anger"; such as, by shouting, which came from the earlier belief that spleen was "the source of bad tempers."
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This entry is located in the following unit:
spleno-, splen-, splenico-, spleni-, -splenism, -splenia, -splenic
(page 1)
Units related to:
“spleen”
(Greek > Latin: spleen; a combining form denoting relationship to the spleen)
(Greek: spleen, "the inward parts;" the elongated accessory lymphatic organ of the vascular [blood] system)
Word Entries containing the term:
“spleen”
lienunculus, accessory spleen
One of the small globular masses of splenic tissue occasionally found in the region of the spleen, in one of the peritoneal folds or elsewhere.
This entry is located in the following unit:
-unculus +
(page 1)
Word Entries at Get Words:
“spleen”
spleen
An organ located in the upper left part of the abdomen near the stomach.
The spleen produces lymphocytes; it is the largest lymphatic organ in the body. The spleen also filters the blood, serves as a major reservoir for blood and destroys blood cells that are no longer viable.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Computerized Axial Tomography, CAT, or Computed Tomography, CT Terms +
(page 4)