What is splenomegaly?
splenomegaly is a health condition in which the spleen increases. The causes of splenomegaly may include infections, blood cancer, liver disease and metabolic disorders, or even disproportionate pressure on liver and spleen veins or blood clots in these veins. Specific diseases that may cause the condition include mononucleosis, syphilis, Hodgkin's disease, Gauchher's disease and Niemann-Picks. Splenomegaly can affect people of all age groups and because the symptoms of splenomegaly are usually not represented, the condition may remain unidentified until the doctor passes a general physical test.
Sleen is located on the upper left quadrant of the abdomen, just below the rib cage. Among his different functions, he removes the spleen and destroys blood cells that are old or damaged, accumulate blood and plates that help in clotting, and prevents infections by creating white blood cells in the fight against pathogens. Any or all of these functions can be endangered when tsleen increasesthrough splenomegaly.
Normal spleen is usually as large as human fist. When splenomegaly occurs, this can cause significant changes in the function of the organ and can even lead to its partial destruction. For example, an enlarged spleen means that normal functions as well as old and damaged blood cells will be removed. This means that the availability of healthy blood cells in the bloodstream of the person will be reduced.
If splenomegaly is suspected, your doctor may order blood tests or display as ultrasound, computer tomography (CT) scanning or magnetic resonance (MRI) to confirm the diagnosis. In cases where the causes are difficult to determine, specialized tests such as bone marrow test or liver function tests can be performed. However, some patients may have symptoms associated with splenomegalia. These may include, included, recurring or frequent infections, easy bleeding and boLest, which radiates from the upper abdomen to the shoulder. People who experience pain that are frequent, severe or impaired breathing should see a doctor immediately, as it can indicate a cracked spleen that may be potentially life -threatening.
splenomegaly is treated first by solving the basic conditions that encouraged the spleen to increase. For example, antibiotics may be prescribed to those who fight infections and chemotherapy or radiation can be administered to patients suffering from Hodgkin's disease. Treatment of the basic state hopes that the spleen will return to its normal size. Sometimes it is recommended to surgery to remove enlarged spleen, although it is usually the last option.