發表在《科學》（Science ）雜志上的一項研究表明，脾可以作為一個大的抗感染單核細胞庫用于受損心臟的修復，而人們之前并沒有認識到脾的這項功能。

    Spleen Gives Heart a Leg Up

    Poor old spleen, it never got the recognition it deserved. Until now. Scientists had known that the spleen is part of our immune systems. But it was considered expendable, an organ we could live fine without, if we had to, nothing crucial. Now researchers in Boston say that the spleen actually helps mend damaged hearts. The study was published in the July 31st issue of the journal Science.

    They've shown that the spleen is what they call a critical reservoir of monocytes. Those are cells that scientists had previously thought were only found in bone marrow and blood that help fight infection. Scientists discovered these spleen-based monocytes by accident. They were investigating heart damage and found more monocytes at the site of the damage than should have been in the entire circulatory system. Upon investigation, they found the reservoir in the spleen.

    After a heart attack, those monocytes surge out of the spleen. When they reach the heart, they fight infection and are critically important in helping mend the heart tissue. The researchers now want to find out if there are other conditions where spleen-based monocytes are critical. Finally, the Rodney Dangerfield of organs gets some respect.

    研究新發現：脾能幫助修復受損心臟

    可憐的脾臟，直到現在，它從來沒有得到它應該得到的認可。科學家們知道脾是我們免疫系統的一部分。在萬不得已的情況下，沒有脾我們也能活得不錯，因此人們過去曾認為脾臟是可有可無的。現在來自波士頓（Boston）的研究者們說，脾實際上能幫助修復受損的心臟。這項研究發表在7月31日的《科學》（Science）雜志上。

    研究發現，脾臟是他們稱之為的重要單核細胞庫。單核細胞有抗感染的功能，科學家們以前認為單核細胞只存在于骨髓和血液中。科學家們是偶然發現了這些基于脾臟的單核細胞。他們在研究受損心臟的時候，發現在心臟的受損區域有更多的單核細胞，這些受損區域里的單核細胞比在整個循環系統中應該有的單核細胞要多。經過研究，研究者們發現了脾臟中的單核細胞庫。

    在發生心臟病之后，這些單核細胞從脾臟中大量釋放出來。當它們抵達心臟后，這些單核細胞能抗感染，并且在幫助修復受損心臟組織方面具有非常重要的作用。目前研究者們想弄清楚，基于脾臟的單核細胞是否在其它的情況也很重要。最后，器官中的羅德尼·丹澤菲爾德（Rodney Dangerfield）也得到了應有的尊重。

    Vocabulary:

    Spleen:脾

    Unrecognized:未被認識到的

    Reservoir:水庫；（大量的）儲備

    Infection:感染

    Monocyte:單核細胞

    Immune:免疫

    Expendable:可消耗的

    Crucial:關鍵的

    Marrow:骨髓

    Circulatory:循環的

    Surge:急劇上升

    Give sb a leg-up: 幫助，援助