The Morphological Variations of the Human Spleen

摘要

Introduction: The spleen is an important lymphatic organ in the human body. Its immunological and haematological functions are being well realized now-a-days. The aim of this study was to find out the morphological variations of the spleen and to compare them with the findings of previous studies.Materials and Methods: The present study included 111 human cadaveric spleens. The morphological features of the spleen like its length, breadth, width and weight were measured. The shape, poles, borders, surfaces and the impressions on the spleen were observed. Accessory splenic tissues, if they were present, were noted. Results: The lengths of the spleens varied between 5 cm to 13 cm, with an average of 9.66 cm. Their breadth was between 3.5 and 9.5 cm. The average breadth was 6.22 cm. Their widths varied between 1.5 and 5.5 cm, with an average of 3.06 cm. The weights of the spleens showed great variations, ranging between 80 and 300 gm, with an average of 145.76 gm. Various shapes of the spleens were observed in the present study. Most of the spleens were wedge shaped [61.26%], followed by tetrahedral [21.61%] and triangular [12.61%] shapes. Additional oval and irregular shapes of the spleens were observed in 3.60% and 0.09% cases respectively. In all the spleens, two poles, two borders and two surfaces were observed. The diaphragmatic surface of the spleen showed a uniform morphology while its visceral surface showed gastric, renal, colic and pancreatic impressions. The splenic notches were present on the superior as well as on the inferior borders. In most of the cases [74.76%], the notches were found on the superior border. The number of notches varied from zero to six, but in most of the cases [58.55%], there were 1 or 2 notches. Accessory spleens were found in 4.50% cases, in the form of roundish nodules. They were observed at the hilum of the spleen. Conclusion: The findings of the present study will be of fundamental importance to the physicians, surgeons and radiologists and of course, this knowledge is very important for the anatomists during their routine classroom dissections.