70 T_h e spleen

Anatomy The weight of the normal adult spleen is 75–250 /uni00A0 g and it measures up to 10 /uni0...

CONGENITAL ABNORMALITIES OF THE SPLEEN Splenic agenesis is rare but is present in 5% of children...

EMBRYOLOGY, ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY Embryology Fetal splenic tissue develops from condensations of...

FUNCTIONS OF THE SPLEEN Although the spleen was previously thought to be dispensable, it is now r...

FURTHER READING e Boyle S, White RH, Brunson A, Wun T . Splenectomy and the inci - dence of ven...

Felty’s syndrome Patients with rheumatoid arthritis may develop leukopenia. This is referred to a...

Gaucher’s disease This lipid storage disease is characterised by storage of glucocerebroside in ...

Haemolytic anaemias There are four causes of haemolytic anaemia that are generally amenable to s...

Hypersplenism due to portal hypertension Splenomegaly is an invariable feature of portal hyperte...

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura ITP , also known as immune and autoimmune thrombocy - topenic...

Introduction No content extracted automatically.

Learning objectives To understand: The function of the spleen • The common pathologies involving ...

Leukaemia Leukaemia should be considered in the di ff erential diagnosis of splenomegaly . The dia...

NEOPLASMS Haemangioma is the most common benign tumour of the spleen. It may rarely develop into...

Physiology The splenic parenchyma consists of white and red pulp that is surrounded by serosa and...

Porphyria Porphyria is a hereditary error of haemoglobin catabolism in - which porphyrinuria occ...

Postoperative complications Immediate complications specific to splenectomy include haemorrhage r...

Radiological imaging Plain radiology is rarely used in investigation, but the inciden tal finding ...

Rupture of a malarial spleen In tropical countries, rupture of a spleen enlarged as a result of ...

SPLENECTOMY The common indications for splenectomy are: - /uni25CF trauma resulting from an accid...

SPLENIC ARTERY ANEURYSM, INFARCT AND RUPTURE Splenic artery aneurysm Aneurysms involving the sple...

SPLENOMEGAL Y AND HYPERSPLENISM Splenomegaly is a common feature of many disease processes, altho...

Schistosomiasis This condition is prevalent in Africa, Asia and South America. It is caused by in...

Splenic abscess Splenic abscess may arise from an infected splenic embolus or in association with...

Splenic infarction This condition commonly occurs in patients with a massively enlarged spleen fr...

Splenic rupture due to trauma The spleen is the most commonly injured intra-abdominal organ follo...

Technique of laparoscopic

Technique of open splenectomy Most surgeons use a midline or transverse left subcostal incision f...

Tropical splenomegaly Massive splenic enlargement frequently occurs in the tropics from malaria, ...

Tuberculosis The diagnosis of tuberculosis should be considered in young adults with splenomegal...