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X-ray of the spleen
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
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Plain radiography of the abdominal cavity allows one to assess the size of the organ, if it can be seen, and to identify calcifications in it.
Sonography is the primary method of examining the spleen. It is used to determine the size and shape of the organ, the nature of its contours, and the structure of the parenchyma. An important purpose of sonography is to diagnose splenomegaly, one of the common symptoms of blood disease. Tumor nodes and metastases are quite clearly visible, which can be either hypo- or hyperechoic. This method makes it possible to detect subcapsular ruptures of the spleen, often observed in abdominal trauma.
More detailed information about the condition of the spleen can be obtained using CT. This method is characterized not only by a large number of detectable details of the organ structure. When a contrast agent is introduced, it facilitates differential diagnostics of volumetric lesions. Unlike CT, MRI allows better diagnostics of diffuse infiltrative changes in the spleen, which occur, for example, with lymphomas.
Spleen angiography is extremely rarely used in the diagnosis of spleen diseases. For the diagnosis of portal hypertension, direct injection of a contrast agent into the spleen pulp is sometimes used, i.e. splenoportography is performed. With the appropriate equipment, it is possible to obtain an image of the splenic vein in the venous stage of arteriography, i.e. perform indirect splenoportography.