Gunjan Rai1 , Soumya Khanna2 , Royana Singh3 , Chandramayee Mohanty4
BACKGROUND Spleen is the largest lymphatic organ having an important role in immunological and haematological response of the body. A surgeon should prefer a conservative approach in case of splenic injury. It varies a lot variation in shape, size and other morphometric parameters which should be kept in mind while examining and / or operating on a patient. The present study focuses on morphometric analysis of cadaveric spleen and its comparison with other previous studies. METHODS A total number of 49 human cadaveric spleens obtained from the Department of Anatomy, Institute of Medical Sciences, Varanasi, were selected for morphometric studies. The length, breadth and width were measured using a measuring tape and a digital vernier callipers. Weight was measured using an electronic weighing machine. Data obtained was tabulated and statistically analysed in Microsoft Excel. Others features like variation in shape was noted down. Notches on the superior and inferior borders and fissures on diaphragmatic and visceral surfaces were also studied. RESULTS Out of 49 cases, lengths of the spleens ranged between 5.1 cms and 13.6 cms, with an average length of 9.53 cms. Breadth was observed to vary between 3.2 cms and 9.2 cms, with an average breadth of 6.12 cms., width of the spleens varied from 1.8 cms to 7.1 cms, with an average width of 3.52 cms. Out of 49 spleens, wedge shaped (61.22 %) was the most common followed by tetrahedral (20.41 %) shape, triangular (12.24 %) shape, oval (4.08 %) shape and semilunar (2.08 %) shape. The number of notches varied from zero to four, but in most of the cases there were 1 or 2 notches. The maximum number of notches were found to be four and they were present on the superior border of spleen. Out of 49 specimens, 55.10 % spleens had notches on superior border, 12.24 % on inferior border, and 8.16 % on both the borders. There was absence of notch in 20.41 % of spleens. 4.08% had anomalous fissures on diaphragmatic surface in which one of the fissure was H shaped. CONCLUSIONS The findings of the present study will be useful to anatomists in their routine dissection classes as well as for clinicians in the diagnosis of various clinical diseases of spleen.
