The progress and prospect of fundamental research of the spleen

A better understanding of the function of spleen has been gained recently, owing to the in-depth studies on the structure, cellular function, secretion and innervation of spleen. It is generally accepted that the spleen is the important part of the regulation network between immune, nerve and endocrine system. The spleen has much more functions besides blood filtering and storing, haematogenesis, and immunization, and its immune function has characteristics of "two-way" and "phase". But further study is still needed for the precise evaluation of function of the spleen, especially the spleen on the pathologic state, clarification of the pathogenesis of hypersplenism, and the relationship between spleen and other organs. Here we introduced the progress of fundamental research of the spleen from multiple perspectives.