Splenomegaly
(DR.SAJEEV VASUDEVAN)
Splenomegaly is abnormal enlargement of the spleen, an organ lying in the left upper abdomen that functions as a filter for damaged and aged blood cells. If diseases increase the number of abnormal cells in the blood the spleen enlarges, as in polycythemia and various inherited red cell disorders such as sickle-cell disease, thalassemia, or hereditary spherocytosis. Splenic blood drains into the liver through the hepatic portal vein. Therefore, cirrhosis and other diseases of the liver, in which resistance to blood flow is increased, may also result in splenomegaly. Chronic infections, such as malaria or tuberculosis, may also cause the spleen to enlarge. Other causes are malignancies directly involving the spleenÑleukemia and lymphomaÑor cancer arising in other organs and spreading to the spleen.
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