What's the Spleen? Here's an Ex-Spleen-ation

Ask someone to locate their spleen, and you'll probably get a blank stare in return. That's because most people don't think much about their spleen, and it's rarely, if ever, something they talk about. The spleen is an oval-shaped organ located in the upper-left side of your belly, between the stomach and diaphragm. It's where old, worn-out blood cells go to be recycled. However, since it's also where bacteria are filtered out of the blood, it's the largest single organ of the immune system. Oddly enough, the spleen is a non-essential organ. You can actually live without it, but you'll be more likely to get certain types of bacterial infections.