Spleen size in health and disease: a sonographic assessment.

Ultrasonography was used to evaluate splenic size in normal patients as well as in patients with various clinical conditions. To express splenic size, a splenic volumetric index (SVI) was used. By grading the SVI on the basis of age and sex in normal patients, and in various diseases, characteristic distributions of SVI were obtained. Obtaining the SVI by the use of ultrasound appears to be a significant supplemental aid for evaluating spleen size, especially in patients whose spleens are not palpable.