# Got no spleen, Gene???? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669 "2004-04-23T17:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/1 "2004-04-23T17:20:48Z")
In the final episode of the second season of _The Sopranos_, Tony tells Christopher that Christopher’s going to “get his button” and Christopher replies, saying something like “I deserve it; I ain’t got no spleen, Gene.” What the hell is he talking about? Is it a reference to some song lyrics or something? ---
**Author:** ![Flypsyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Flypsyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flypsyde)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/2 "2004-04-23T17:25:38Z")
He’s referring to the fact that he was shot up by his two lackeys, Matthew Bevilacqua and the other idiot, earlier in the season. While I don’t believe he actually lost his spleen, he did suffer some pretty severe internal damage and was laid up for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/3 "2004-04-23T17:39:11Z")
Oh, right … thanks, that’s exactly it. I do recall some dialogue that they were going to have to remove Christopher’s spleen. ---
**Author:** ![silverfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@silverfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silverfish)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/4 "2004-04-23T20:27:01Z")
There might be a song lyric reference too. The line reminds me of the chorus to ‘50 ways to leave your lover’, which has lines such as: ‘You just slip out the back, Jack Make a new plan, Stan You don’t need to be coy, Roy’ The line from _The Sopranos_ isn’t a direct quote, but is sort of in the same style, (the rhyming of spleen and Gene in particular), so perhaps they were alluding to it in the show, or then again perhaps not. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/5 "2004-04-23T23:33:13Z")
Asplenic individuals should be sure to ask their doctor for a pneumovax vaccination, as they are at higher risk for a variety of pneumonias due to their missing organ. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/6 "2004-04-24T00:40:42Z")
You can’t be an astronaut if you don’t have a spleen. I interviewed this Stanford tennis player once who had aspirations to be an astronaut, and he was talking about how he nearly had to have his spleen removed. I guess NASA wants to send into space only people with all of their parts. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/7 "2004-04-24T03:01:36Z")
Well considering that quote mentions a body part (spleen) it reminded me even more of a song called “Transfusion” by Nervous Norvus. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/8 "2004-04-24T12:24:46Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Asplenic individuals should be sure to ask their doctor for a pneumovax vaccination, as they are at higher risk for a variety of pneumonias due to their missing organ. > > QtM, MD Ask? I was immunized, innoculated, and thoroughly protected before they let me leave the hospital. A warning about intestinal adhesions would’ve been nice too. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/9 "2004-04-24T14:09:56Z")
> [@The Tooth](#): > > A warning about intestinal adhesions would’ve been nice too. Anyone who’s had their internal abdominal anatomy forcibly re-arranged should get that warning. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/10 "2004-04-24T15:20:13Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Anyone who’s had their internal abdominal anatomy forcibly re-arranged should get that warning. Being slammed into the ground at 20 kph or more - hard enough to rupture a spleen, say - probably doesn’t help. I realize this is off-topic, but since you’re here…I’m told I gave one of these adhesion thingies to a fencing partner who coincidentally is fairly advanced in karate. Since I have one myself and I know how I got it, I find it hard to believe I could hit someone hard enough with a foil to give them an adhesion without either breaking the foil or impaling her on it. However, it’s not hard to imagine a student of karate getting one from all the body blows and throws. What’s your off-the-cuff opinion, if you don’t mind my asking? I hate being accused of a crime I didn’t commit. Personally, I think she’s full of beans, blaming me. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/11 "2004-04-24T15:50:55Z")
> [@The Tooth](#): > > I realize this is off-topic, but since you’re here…I’m told I gave one of these adhesion thingies to a fencing partner who coincidentally is fairly advanced in karate. Extratopically, in my experience, adhesions are almost always the result of invasive procedures in the abdomen. Surgery, penetrating wounds, etc. Blunt trauma is much less likely, unless it ruptures viscera, in which case surgery is usually done to repair ruptured viscera. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/12 "2004-04-24T17:33:35Z")
Darn, I could have sworn I put a link to the Nervous Norvus “Transfusion” lyrics. Okay I’ll try again: [http://www.webfitz.com/lyrics/Lyrics/1956/471956.html](http://www.webfitz.com/lyrics/Lyrics/1956/471956.html) ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/13 "2004-04-24T18:29:07Z")
Umm, to get away from the medical and Dr. Demento hijacks… One thing bugs me about Christopher’s injuries – every time he’s shirtless, you can see the abdominal scar where he had his organ removed. However…there’s NO scar on his shoulder, where he took the second bullet! Grave lack of continuity there! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-no-spleen-gene/241669/14 "2004-04-24T20:39:20Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Extratopically, in my experience, adhesions are almost always the result of invasive procedures in the abdomen. Surgery, penetrating wounds, etc. Blunt trauma is much less likely, unless it ruptures viscera, in which case surgery is usually done to repair ruptured viscera. I seriously doubt I pack such a punch, to do so through a fencing jacket. Thanks.