Book excerpt: In this thoroughly revised and updated second edition, a panel of distinguished clinical researchers from around the world takes stock of the wealth of new knowledge about the human spleen and applies it to the pathology and treatment of splenic diseases. This much enriched understanding encompasses the spleen's complex role in immunological defense, the recently defined function of particulate filtration by the spleen, and the structural basis for the functions of the spleen, most particularly the microvasculature around which it is organized. Among the diseases and disorders of the spleen considered in detail are splenomegaly, the consequences and management of hyper- and hyposplenism, and "dilutional anemia." Recent advances in splenic surgery are also reviewed, especially those techniques intended to preserve at least partial function while removing the greater part of the organ.