The Causes, Treatment and an Overview of an Enlarged Spleen

Normally, an adult’s spleen is about 5 inches long, 3 to 4 inches wide and weighs about 7 ounces. The doctor can’t feel it when they palpate the upper left part of the abdomen. If they can feel the spleen, it is probably enlarged. Imagining tests can confirm this. The term for an enlarged spleen is splenomegaly. It isn’t itself a disease but a sign that something else has gone wrong in the patient’s body.

 

Information. The spleen is found right below the diaphragm. It is protected by the lower rib cage and lies a bit to the left and a bit behind the stomach. It is soft, spongy and a violet red color. Though it is protected by the peritoneum, a membrane that protects the organs in the abdomen, it can be crumbled easily.