Splenic immune deposits in bacterial endocarditis.

Splenic and renal tissues from a 61-year-old man with subacute bacterial endocarditis and acute renal failure were studied. Immune complex deposits were found both within glomeruli and splenic venous sinus basement membranes, substantiating the systemic nature of the immune injury in this disorder. The splenic deposits may, in part, be responsible for the splenomegaly often present in endocarditis.