During its 120-day cycle the circulatory system transports red blood cells and nutrients throughout the human body. This system helps keep the body in balance and fight against infections and diseases by filtering old or diseased blood cells and other foreign bodies. As blood flows through the body, the individual cells must often squeeze through tiny passages. According to Zhangli Peng, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, some of the smallest of these are found in spleen. Since the spleen also plays a critical role in determining the size and shape of healthy blood cells, it is the ideal organ through which to study cell movement or transmigration.
↧