Importance of the Spleen as a Reservoir for Erythrocytes

Abstract

ConclusionsRepeated examinations of the hematocrit value of the peripheric blood following the intravenous administration of adrenalin in 4 dogs before and for a period of 18 months following splenectomy could demonstrate that (1) the acute polycythemia following adrenalin which is regularly observed in the normal dog disappears after splenectomy; (2) after that period the polycythemia returns but does not reach the same degree as in the normal dog. These results suggest a slow substitution of the erythrocyte-storing function of the spleen by another capillary system.One of the modern conceptions of the physiology of the spleen is to regard this organ in human beings and in animals as a reservoir which is able under different conditions to pour red blood cells into the circulation (Lauda1). The discrepancy of the results obtained by various authors (Lauda and Haam, Radosaljevic and Sekulic, Testoni2 and others) concerning the appearance or nonappearance of adrenalin polycythemia in splenectomized animals ...