ABSTRACT
The spleen is often involved in sarcoidosis but the true
incidence is not known, as splenic involvement is not always
specifically looked for. The normal human spleen weighs
approximately 150250 g, and becomes palpable beyond the costal margin if it has doubled in size. Massive splenomegaly is
defined as a splenic weight of greater than 1 kg, or four to six
times the normal weight. The proportion of patients with
sarcoid with a palpable spleen varies from 1.4 to 42 percent.
Spleen size is related to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)
levels and to extrathoracic sarcoidosis but not to pulmonary
involvement (Ebert et al. 2008). Increased cases of sarcoid
splenomegaly are picked up radiologically with ultrasound
scanning, CT, MRI and PET scan. At postmortem, 3878 percent of sarcoid patients are found to have an enlarged
spleen (Selroos 1976a,b).
