Erythrocytes have a typical functional life span of 120 days from synthesis in the marrow until they are cleared by- phagocytosis by reticuloendothelial macrophages in the liver, spleen, or other sites.
Physical stress encountered by red cells is especially severe when they traverse interendothelial slits of ∼ 2 μm in the venous sinus of the splenic red pulp.
Macrophages remove senescent red blood cells by erythrophagocytosis.1