Determination of a splenic volumetric index by ultrasonic scanning.

In a prospective study carried out to determine spleen size by a rapid and simple ultrasonic method, 45 normal subjects, 20 men and 25 women, average age 54 +/- 17 years (range 17-78) were studied. The three principal dimensions of the spleen, breadth, thickness, and height, were obtained with a compound scan technique; each dimension was measured at its largest point. The values obtained were multiplied by each other and the product arbitrarily divided by 27, which is the cube of the three values. This gave a splenic volumetric index (SVI), which, in 95 per cent of normal subjects, was between 8 and 34. There were no statistically significant differences related to age, sex, or morphotype when endomorphs, ectomorphs, and mesomorphs were examined. This SVI determination, based on standardized measurements, allows the distinction of normal from abnormal spleens in 10 minutes.