What is splenomegaly? Splenic insufficiency?

Splenomegaly: • Systemic inflammations, generalized hematopoietic disorders, and many metabolic disturbances, can cause spleen enlargement • It is rarely the primary site of disease. Insufficiency: • Insufficiency due to splenectomy or autoinfarction (sickle-cell disease) has a major clinical manifestation: increased susceptibility to sepsis. • The decrease in phagocyticcapacity and antibody production contribute to the increased risk of sepsis, caused by encapsulated bacteria (pneumococci, meningococci, Haemophilus influenzae) • Asplenic individuals should be vaccinated against these agents.