The Historical Perspective of the Spleen

The spleen was felt by the ancient Greeks and Romans to play a significant role in human physiology. Aristotle thought that the spleen was on the left side of the body as a counterweight to the right-sided liver.1 He believed that the spleen was important in drawing off "residual humors" from the stomach. The spleen was also felt to "hinder a man's running," and Pliny reportedly claimed that "professed runners in the race that bee troubled with the splene, have a devise to burne and waste it with a hot yron [AKA they burned it away by jabbing themselves in their left flank with a hot iron] ."2
The exceptional speed of giraffes was felt to be related to the erroneous belief that giraffes were asplenic
[without a spleen]. Early references to removal of the spleen to increase speed make it apparent that it has
long been known that the spleen is not absolutely necessary to sustain life.

[PS- A study in 1992 in rats confirmed that after their spleens were removed they could indeed run faster]

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Good thing I was never a serious runner. I don't think I could handle jabbing myself with a hot iron.

Unknown said...

P.S. Where did you find this?

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