The spleen acts as a biological quality control center by destroying old blood cells
The spleen serves as a high-speed quality control center for the blood, physically testing every red blood cell for flexibility before allowing it to continue circulating.
Every day, the spleen filters approximately 30 meters of blood, forcing red blood cells to squeeze through microscopic slits in the red pulp that are only 0.5 to 1 micron wide. Healthy, flexible cells pass through easily, but old or rigid cells become trapped and are immediately destroyed by specialized macrophages.
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