spleen

Term: spleen

Origin: Anc Greek 
ο σπλην /spleen (=spleen) > σπλάχνον/splahnon (=vincera) > πλέκω /pleko (=knit). Latin this root became lien afer losing its initial sp

Definition:

a vascular lymphoid organ, lying in the human body to the left of the stomach below the diaphragm. Spleen performs various tasks, such as defense, hemopoiesis during fetal and newborn life, blood storage, and destruction and recycling of red blood cells and platelets 

Runon derivatives :

From splen, comes splenic and the combining form spleno-.

comments:

  In English  “have the spleen” means “bad mood” In Greek the idiomatic equivalent of the heart in English, is “good-vincera” (εὔσπλαγχνος or φιλεύσπλαχνος) means to be good-hearted or compassionate.  

  The association between melancholy and spleen is very old. Since Hippocrates physicians had been wondering what the spleen did in the body. Some thought that it controlled the emotions and behavior or made athletes to run fast or slow. Galen decided that the spleen stored black bile  in order to gather toxic excess black bile. Black bile was one of the four humors that Hippocrates believed as the causes for every disease (disassociated medicine from religion).

Hippocrates developed the humoral theory and became the most commonly held view of the human body among European physicians until the advent of modern medical research in the 19th century. Theopphrastus and others (Menander, Plautus, Galen)  developed a set of characters based on the Hipocratic humors.

a)     black bile (gr. melan chole) which in excess leads to melancholy and depression

b)    yellow bile (gr. chole) which  in excess leads to choleric, irritable person

c)     phlegm (gr. phlegma) which in excess leads to phlegmatic person (calm and sluggish)

d)     blood (lat. sanguis) which in excess leads to sanquine personality (social cheerful and humorous person) .

All of the above substances, (humors from Greek χυμός=fluid) , are in balance when a person is healthy.