Changes of Weight and Hemodynamics of the Spleen Consequent of Circulatory Disturbance

Abstract

Splenic venous constriction alone or in combination with transient clamping of the splenic artery was applied to adult dogs, and resultant changes in splenic venous pressure, portal pressure and splenic weight were examined at various intervals. Measurements of splenic blood flow were also made on the spleen 50 days after ischemia. These procedures failed to produce splenomegaly, although increased splenic venous pressure was observed in some eases, which indicated that portal hypertension did not always cause splenomegaly. On the other hand, there was a significant increase in blood How in the spleen after transient ischemia, suggesting the importance of splenic arterial factors in the development of portal hypertension.