Sean Avery ruptures his spleen
May 5, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
New York Rangers’ forward Sean Avery has found out the hard way that a little-considered organ, the spleen, can greatly affect how you feel.
The spleen is a small organ that’s found in the upper left part of the abdomen under the ribcage. It’s part of the lymphatic system and the spleen clears worn out red blood cells and other foreign bodies from the bloodstream to help fight off infection.
The spleen is not an absolutely essential part of life, but if you don’t have your spleen, you can be more prone to having infections.
A lacerated or torn spleen can be very serious because it can cause internal bleeding. Whether the spleen is remove or not depends on how severe the injury is.
The signs and symptoms of a ruptured spleen are:
- abdominal pain
- abdominal tenderness
- drop in blood pressure if internal bleeding
- lightheadedness
Image: Newscom
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