What is the Difference Between Spleen and Liver

The key difference between spleen and liver is that spleen is a fist-sized internal organ on the upper left side of the abdomen, while liver is a football-sized internal organ on the upper right side of the abdomen.

Spleen and liver are two internal organs located in the abdomen of the human body. They normally perform important functions. The spleen acts as a filter for the blood. The liver performs around 300 functions. It is mainly involved in detoxifying our blood. However, people can survive without a spleen since the liver can perform the functions of the spleen in the body.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Spleen 
3. What is Liver
4. Similarities – Spleen and Liver
5. Spleen vs Liver in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Spleen vs Liver

What is Spleen?

Spleen is a fist-sized, purple, 4-inch-long internal organ in the upper left side of the abdomen. It is located next to the stomach. This internal organ is found in all vertebrates. The spleen primarily acts as a blood filter. The spleen plays a vital role in red blood cells and the immune system. Spleen usually removes the old blood cells and holds a reserve of blood. Moreover, the spleen metabolizes haemoglobin from senescent red blood cells. Here, the globin part of the hemoglobin is degraded to its constitutive amino acids while the heme part is metabolized to bilirubin. Later, bilirubin is removed from the liver. The spleen also has antibody-producing lymphocytes in its white pulp and monocytes. Upon moving into injured body tissues, these monocytes turn into dendritic cells and macrophages during tissue healing.

The different medical conditions involving the spleen in humans include an enlarged spleen, ruptured spleen, sickle cell disease, thrombocytopenia, and accessory spleen. These medical conditions can be diagnosed through physical examination, CT scan, ultrasound, MRI, bone marrow biopsy, and spleen scan. Furthermore, spleen treatments include splenectomy and vaccination.

What is Liver?

Liver is a football-sized internal organ in the upper right side of the abdomen. It is located above the stomach and beneath the rib cage. Liver is the largest internal organ in the human body. People can’t survive without it. Liver normally removes toxins from the blood supply of the body, maintains healthy blood sugar levels, regulates blood clotting procedures, and many other vital functions, including albumin production, bile production, filtering blood, regulating amino acids, regulating resistance to infections, storing vitamins and minerals, and processing glucose.

Medical conditions involving the liver include infections (hepatitis, A, B, C), fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and inherited diseases such as hemochromatosis and Wilson disease. These liver conditions can be diagnosed through liver function tests (blood tests), liver biopsy, ultrasound, CT scans, and MRI. Furthermore, liver conditions can be diagnosed through lifestyle modifications (stopping alcohol, avoiding red meat, exercising, and losing weight), medications (antiviral drugs), and liver transplants.

What are the Similarities Between Spleen and Liver?

• Spleen and liver are two internal organs located in the abdomen of the human body.
• They carry out very important functions in our body.
• Both may perform similar functions.
• Different medical conditions are associated with both organs.

What is the Difference Between Spleen and Liver?

Spleen is a fist-sized internal organ found in the upper left side of the abdomen, while liver is a football-sized internal organ found in the upper right side of the abdomen. Thus, this is the key difference between spleen and liver. Furthermore, people can survive without a spleen, but not without a liver.

The below infographic presents the differences between spleen and liver in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Spleen vs Liver

Spleen and liver are two important internal organs found in the abdomen of the human body. Spleen is a fist-sized internal organ and is found in the upper left side of the abdomen. It plays a vital role with regard to the red blood cells and immune system of our body. On the other hand, liver is a football-sized internal organ and is found on the upper right side of the abdomen. It mainly functions to remove toxins from the blood supply of the body. Humans can live without a spleen but not without a liver. So, this summarizes the difference between spleen and liver.

Reference:

1. Hoffman, Matthew. “The Spleen (Human Anatomy): Picture, Location, Function, and Related Conditions.” WebMD.
2. “Liver: Anatomy and Functions.” Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Illu spleen” (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Liver Diagram” By T Sheasby – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia