Spleen Diagram – In Place, Inner Face and Microscope

All 17 parts on the diagram

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In place 5

Spleen Lies between the stomach and the diaphragm.
Stomach Its back wall touches the gastric surface of the spleen.
Left kidney Touches the renal surface of the spleen.
Diaphragm The sheet of muscle the outer face of the spleen rests against.
Gastrosplenic ligament A fold of peritoneum from the stomach to the spleen.

Inner face 5

Hilum A long cleft where vessels and nerves enter and leave.
Splenic artery Brings blood to the spleen. It divides before it enters.
Splenic vein Carries blood away from the spleen.
Gastric surface The broad, hollow part that faces the stomach.
Renal surface The narrower, flatter part that faces the left kidney.

Microscope 7

Capsule The fibrous outer coat of the spleen.
Trabeculae Fibrous bands that run inward from the capsule.
White pulp Lymphoid tissue gathered around small arteries.
Central artery The small artery that runs through white pulp.
Red pulp Blood-filled tissue made of sinusoids and splenic cords.
Splenic sinusoids Wide blood channels of the red pulp.
Trabecular vein A vein that runs inside a trabecula.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Gray's Anatomy (1918), The Spleen, https://www.bartleby.com/107/278.html : the relations, the gastric and renal surfaces, the hilum, the gastrosplenic ligament, the fibroelastic coat (capsule), the trabeculae and the splenic pulp. (2) Wikipedia, Spleen, White pulp, Red pulp, Trabecular arteries and Gastrosplenic ligament, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spleen (its account of the surfaces repeats Gray, so it is not counted for them). (3) TeachMeAnatomy, The Spleen, https://teachmeanatomy.info/abdomen/viscera/spleen/ : position, ligaments, hilum, splenic artery and vein. (4) US National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Spleen, https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/lymphatic/components/spleen.html : capsule, white pulp, red pulp, venous sinuses. (5) Passages found by archive.org's full-text search: Color Atlas of Histology (1985), https://archive.org/details/coloratlasofhist0000gene (capsule, trabecula, white pulp, central artery, red pulp, splenic sinusoids, trabecular vein); Histology and Cell Biology (2002), https://archive.org/details/histologycellbio0000kier (central artery, red and white pulp); Atlas of Anatomy: Neck and Internal Organs (2006), https://archive.org/details/atlasofanatomyne0000schu (gastric surface, renal surface, hilum). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-05 by script. Our own drawing, nothing traced. The three views were laid out by eye after three public domain plates in Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (20th US edition, 1918): the cross-section after fig. 1039, the peritoneum in the upper part of the abdomen (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray1039.png), turned over so that it is seen from below; the inner face after fig. 1188, the visceral surface of the spleen (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray1188.png), turned half round, with an idealised outline; the microscope view after fig. 1191, a section of a portion of the spleen (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray1191.png). A plan, not to scale: small gaps are left between organs that touch in life, and the kidneys are simplified. Licence: own work

How it works

Name the parts of the spleen in three drawings: the organ in place between the stomach and the diaphragm, its inner face, and its tissue under the microscope.

Read the full guide

Where it sits

The first drawing is a cut across the trunk seen from below, so the body's left is at the right of the picture. The spleen lies against the diaphragm, behind the stomach and beside the left kidney. The gastrosplenic ligament ties it to the stomach.

Face and tissue

A ridge divides the inner face into a gastric surface and a narrower renal surface. The splenic artery and vein reach the spleen at the hilum. Inside, trabeculae run in from the capsule. White pulp is lymphoid tissue around central arteries; red pulp, around it, is full of blood.

Gastric and renal name the neighbor each surface touches: the stomach and the left kidney.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between red pulp and white pulp?

White pulp is lymphoid tissue, mostly lymphocytes, gathered around small arteries. Red pulp surrounds it and is made of blood-filled sinusoids and splenic cords. Red pulp filters the blood; white pulp belongs to the immune system.

What is the hilum of the spleen?

A long cleft on the inner face, in the gastric surface. The branches of the splenic artery enter there and the veins that form the splenic vein leave. The gastrosplenic ligament is attached beside it.

Is this the art labeling activity the microscopic structure of the spleen?

No. That is a publisher's homework title, like the spleen transverse section through the trunk. These drawings are our own and show the same structures, so you can practice the names here. We have no answer key for any activity.