“…Our results reinforce the concept that, in intravenous infection by L. monocytogenes , the importance of the spleen is controversial, because splenectomized animals show greater control of bacterial multiplication and dissemination to other tissues (17–20, 23). On the other hand, in infection by other bacteria, such as S. pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, S. aureus , and Escherichia coli , the importance of the spleen in controlling these infections is well known (10, 11, 24–26).…”