Library · Histology
White pulp of the spleen
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The spleen has two main kinds of tissue inside it, and their names come from their color: white pulp and red pulp. The white pulp is lymphoid tissue, meaning defense tissue, and it is built around a central arteriole, a small vessel. It is a checkpoint set right on the pipeline the blood runs through.
What is inside are white blood cells, the defense cells, and they are not placed at random. In the innermost part, the germinal center, are the B lymphocytes; around them, in the marginal zone, the T lymphocytes. Together they launch the adaptive immune response, the one that learns to recognize a particular invader.
In the follicle of that white pulp, antigen-presenting cells show those lymphocytes the antigens that travel in the blood. That meeting ends up leading to the production of opsonizing antibodies, the ones that tag the microbe.
The whole white pulp is surrounded by red pulp. And the spleen is the largest secondary lymphoid organ an adult has.
In brief
The spleen has two main components: white pulp and red pulp. The white pulp is lymphoid tissue wrapped around a central arteriole.
A checkpoint posted over the blood pipeline.
It contains white blood cells that start the adaptive immune response: B lymphocytes in the germinal center, T cells in the marginal zone.
In its follicle, antigen-presenting cells display antigens traveling in the blood, and that ultimately leads to opsonizing antibodies.
It is surrounded by red pulp, and the spleen is the largest secondary lymphoid organ in adults.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Spleen, StatPearlsPublished
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