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Dimensions of the Normal Adult Spleen Scan and Prediction of Spleen Weight

Virginia Mason Medical Center and University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, Washington

Correspondence: For reprints contact: Steven M. Larson, Dept. of Nuclear Medicine, Clinical Center, Room 1B51A, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. 20014.

ABSTRACT

To quantitate spleen scanning more adequately, a prospective study was performed to determine the dimensions of the normal spleen and to establish criteria for predicting the weight of enlarged spleens. Rectilinear spleen scans were obtained in 26 healthy adult volunteers. Normal values for mean plus and minus standard deviations of the posterior dimensions were 10 ± 1.5 cm, 6.5 ± 1.0 cm, 27.7 ± 3.7 cm, and 52 ± 14.6 cm² for length, width, circumference, and area, respectively. The lateral dimensions were 10 ± 1.5 cm, 7.1 ± 1.6 cm, 27.5 ± 3.8 cm, and 56.2 ± 18.9 cm² for length, width, circumference, and area, respectively.

A linear relationship was found between spleen weight and several of the scan dimensions. For example, posterior length is easily measured and may be used to estimate spleen weight by the equation W = 71.0L — 537 in which W is spleen weight in grams and L is the posterior length in centimeters. The correlation coefficient for this equation was 0.960. Spleen weight may also be predicted from spleen scan area and circumference.