Spleen Ethnography

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Sonography of the spleen is very important, so important that it is routinely checked in every abdominal exam. The spleen is examined well on CT and MRI, but sonography has its certain advantages that the others don’t have. Sonography is fast, low cost, always available, has no complications and is usually the first method of choice for an abdominal exam. Sonography of the spleen shows the size and location, normal variants and ruptures, pathologic conditions, and benign and malignant lesions. The spleen, also referred to as “the forgotten organ”, is located lying below the diaphragm and next to the stomach in the upper left quadrant. It is an intraperitoneal organ that is very large and composed mostly of lymph tissue. The proper function …show more content…

The most common normal variant is known as an accessory spleen and is most commonly routinely detected. It is defined as a small mass of the splenic tissue that has separated from the primary spleen and is very common. Accessory spleens usually measure one centimeter in diameter and a patient could have as many as six at one time. Tests show “90% are solitary, 10% are multiple and they are in 10-25% of all patients” (2011). Medical studies could be misread due to the fact that they resemble tumors, but most of the time you can detect the vessels leading to the accessory spleen by color Doppler. A rupture is a traumatic lesion of the spleen and is due to blunt force trauma to the abdomen. An acute rupture is very difficult to see on …show more content…

The first, Littoral Cell Angiom (LCA) is a rare benign tumor that is usually discovered incidentally with sonography. It can arise from cells that line the red pulp and can manifest with splenomegaly. Treatment for this condition is most commonly a splenectomy. The second type of benign tumor that can be found on sonography is a splenic hemangioma. It is the most common benign tumor found within the spleen and usually does not exceed 2 millimeters. There are two types of Splenic Hemangioma that can be differentiated by their specific sonographic appearances. The first type is a cavernous hemangioma which can be determined by its mixed echogenic or hypoechoic structure and may show partial calcifications or cystic structures. The second type is a capillary hemangioma which can be determined by its hyperechoic lesion with defined margins. Splenic Hemangioma is generally not treated unless it is large or symptomatic, which in that case the patient would need a splenectomy. Hamartoma is another very rare benign tumor found incidentally during an ultrasound or during surgrey. It originates from the red pulp and is smaller than 3 cenitmeters in size. On sonography, a hamartoma may look like a hyperechoic solid mass and may show cystic or necrotic portions as well as small calcifications. Lastly, Splenic Cysts are the most frequent

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