Fact-sheet: Accessory spleen
Updated on 09/05/2018 at 3:51 PM
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Definition
Variant consisting of an ectopic fragment of splenic tissue occurring in approximately 10% of cases
Usually located in the region of the splenic hilum or the pancreatic tail
Most often solitary
Mean diameter of 1 cm
May hypertrophy after splenectomy (splenosis nodule)
Ultrasound
Echostructure identical to that of the spleen
MRI
Signal identical to the spleen
Enhancement synchronous with that of the spleen (particularly the arterial-phase mottled contrast appearance)
Nuclear medicine
In case of doubt, Technetium-99m-labeled nanocolloid scintigraphy allows confirmation of the splenic nature of a nodule.
Differential diagnosis
Splenosis nodule: abdominal or thoracic implantation of splenic parenchyma secondary to trauma.