The spleen is an unpaired organ of the hematopoietic system, which is normally located in the left hypochondrium at the level of the ninth to eleventh vertebra. The main functions of this organ in the human body are largely dependent on age, however, in all patients, the spleen is involved in the regulation of hematopoiesis and immune defense of the body, the metabolism of iron and proteins, and is also a mechanical filter that can hold up blood clots of various calibers and dissolve them. That is why any inflammatory process, trauma or tumor of the body can cause the spleen, whose symptoms of illness can be quite diverse, to disturb its owner. Do not ignore these symptoms - in most cases, signs of spleen disease should make the patient seek qualified medical help.
The most common patient complaints
Undoubtedly, the most common symptom of a lesion of this organ, which a patient can pay attention to, is pain in the left hypochondrium and a feeling of constant bursting, but the spleen, whose symptoms of the disease grow gradually, by this time is already significantly increased. At first, pain occurs only during physical exertion, then occurs after eating, but the intensity of this symptom increases very slowly. Actually, the spleen parenchyma itself cannot hurt - the appearance of this symptom indicates the overstretching of its capsule and the neglect of the process.
In addition, the spleen, the symptoms of the disease of which often indicate the occurrence of a pathological condition of the hematopoietic system, can be palpated by the doctor or, much less often, by the patient himself - in some cases, the enlarged organ can occupy the entire abdominal cavity. In a small number of cases, this organ can be injured, and the spleen, the symptoms of which in this case will indicate the development of massive internal bleeding, can be very affected. In this case, the only way to save the patient is the immediate surgical intervention - removal of the spleen, since even the smallest damage cannot be sutured on this organ.
Spleen diseases
Actually, injuries also belong to spleen diseases - in this case, symptoms of spleen rupture can occur with very severe trauma to the abdominal organs in healthy patients, and in patients who already had pathological changes in the organ before. In the event that the patient had a direct injury to the abdomen or lumbar region, regardless of the strength of the effect, a doctor's consultation is necessary to exclude organ rupture.
The spleen, enlarged and tight to the touch, the symptoms of the disease of which developed gradually, is characteristic of its heart attack, in which a sufficiently large thrombus or embolus enters the blood vessel. This condition often complicates the course of heart and circulatory diseases (congenital and acquired defects, bacterial endocarditis, thrombophlebitis and varicose veins), liver diseases, and infectious infections. The patient's condition largely depends on the caliber of the affected vessel - small heart attacks can be almost asymptomatic, while an abscess or a false cyst can quickly develop when a splenic artery or vein is damaged. In some cases, the cause of the development of thrombosis is the ingress of tumor cell conglomerates into the spleen - distant metastasis occurs, and tumors of almost all localizations can metastasize to this organ
Survey program
With all these symptoms, the patient should immediately seek medical help. To clarify the diagnosis, an ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, in some cases, angiography of the spleen vessels are performed.