Splenosis
Splenosis is the result of
History
Ectopic splenic tissue was first described in 1896 by Albrecht in Germany, whereas the term “splenosis” was first used by Buchbinder and Lipkoffin to describe their findings in 1939.[2]
Cause
A necessary requirement for splenosis is the
Pathology
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Splenose.jpg/220px-Splenose.jpg)
Macroscopically, splenosis manifests as individual pieces of reddish-blue tissue with variable shape, which can be as few as one and as many as 300,[4] mostly in the abdominal cavity, and varying in size from a few millimeters to as large as 12 cm. Due to the limited blood supply to these nodules, the typical size of splenic implants is usually less than 3 cm. The implants can be separate pieces or connect to other pieces of splenic tissue by a thin stem.[5] Histologically, the regular spleen tissue is made up of red and white pulp, similar to the structure of an accessory spleen.
Clinical presentation
About a decade commonly passes between the injury and the discovery of splenosis. As little as five months and as much as 32 years have been reported. Most people with splenosis have no symptoms, so the splenosis is discovered by chance through
Diagnosis
A definitive diagnosis is often made through biopsy and
In particular, splenosis is differentiated from different forms of
Treatment
Treatment of splenosis is often unnecessary, because it is benign and usually asymptomatic. For people experiencing symptoms, the splenic tissue can be removed by surgery.
Epidemiology
Splenosis is slightly more common in males than females, probably due to the greater frequency of physical trauma experienced by men.[7]
References
- ^ R. D. Fremont, T. W. Rice: Splenosis: A Review.
- PMID 26543660.
- ^ A. H. Huang, K. Shaffer: Case 93: thoracic splenosis.
- PMID 5101334.
- ^ C. R. Fleming, E. R. Dickson, E. G. Harrison, Jr: Splenosis: auto-transplantation of splenic tissue.
- PMID 5101334.
- ^ J. N. Yammine, A. Yatim, A. Barbari: Radionuclide imaging in thoracic splenosis and a review of the literature.