A Cadaveric Study of Human Spleen and its Clinical Significance

Abstract

Background & Aim: Spleen is an important lymphatic organ that is connected to the blood vascular system. It is important component of the reticulo-endothelial system. The aim of study was to find out the morphological variations in spleen & compare it with previous studies. Material and Methods: The present study was done on 66 human adult spleens belonging to both sexes. Various morphological features of spleen like length, breadth, width and weight were measured. Shape, borders, poles and surfaces of spleen were observed. Results: The weight of spleens was between 30 Gms to 390 Gms, with an average of 139.5 Gms. 40.91% of the spleens were wedge shaped followed by tetrahedral (27.27%), triangular (18.18%), oval (9.1%) and irregular (4.55%). The length of the spleens varied between 5.10 cm to 14.8 cm with average of 9.41 cms. Their breadths were between 4.3 cms to 11 cms with average of 6.4 cms and width was between 2 cms to 5.5 cms with an average of 3.3 cms. In most of the cases, splenic notches were present on the superior border (50%) followed by on both borders (21.21%). Ten spleens had no notches on either of its borders. Conclusions: The findings of this study are useful for physicians, surgeons, radiologists and anatomists.