Where do all the dead cells go?

How the spleen works.

They’re enter the blood stream and then are destroyed by the liver and spleen. Then they find their way into your colon and are eliminated with your poop.

What would happen if your spleen and liver were slow and more blood was produced than could be destroyed?

That’s when your body enters a very toxic state – septicemia – and you are likely to die within 2 days or less.

If you have very acute septicemia, that is.

Thanks all. I’ve been wondering about this for a long time.

For non-mobile cells, when they die they are broken down by enzymes released from lysosomes and other organelles. The remaining debris is cleaned up by phagocytes—immune cells that patrol the tissues.

Septicemia = bacteria in your blood stream. This is not the state of being of someone who is splenectomized or has hyposplenism. As far as most cells in the body are concerned, many undergo a genetically programmed cell death called apoptosis. In some cases, only damaged intracellular organelles (i.e. machines) are degraded, in a process called autophagy.

I’ve seen a guy who, just two months ago, had both his gall bladder and spleen removed. His only 43 years old. He is also has borderline diabetic. I’ve tried explaining to him that he really has to give up drinking alcohol, but from what I’ve heard, he hasn’t. I’m not expecting him to live another 20 years.

Septicaemia is an infection in the blood. This isn’t caused by an over abundance of red blood cells. Polycythaemia and erythrocytosis are both terms used for too many red blood cells. You can look those up if you like and read about what causes it (there are several things.).