The spleen detects foreign antigens in circulating blood.

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Multiple Choice

The spleen detects foreign antigens in circulating blood.

The spleen’s job is to screen circulating blood for foreign antigens. It’s a blood-filtering lymphoid organ, with white pulp that houses immune cells (T cells in periarteriolar regions and B-cell–rich follicles) primed to respond to pathogens present in the bloodstream. This is different from lymph nodes, which monitor antigens in lymphatic fluid that drains from tissues (the interstitial fluid). Interstitial fluid is what enters the lymphatics and becomes lymph, which is then sampled by lymph nodes, not by the spleen. Urine, produced by the kidneys, is not a medium in which the spleen detects blood-borne antigens. So the spleen specifically detects foreign antigens in circulating blood.

The spleen’s job is to screen circulating blood for foreign antigens. It’s a blood-filtering lymphoid organ, with white pulp that houses immune cells (T cells in periarteriolar regions and B-cell–rich follicles) primed to respond to pathogens present in the bloodstream. This is different from lymph nodes, which monitor antigens in lymphatic fluid that drains from tissues (the interstitial fluid). Interstitial fluid is what enters the lymphatics and becomes lymph, which is then sampled by lymph nodes, not by the spleen. Urine, produced by the kidneys, is not a medium in which the spleen detects blood-borne antigens. So the spleen specifically detects foreign antigens in circulating blood.

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