Splenitis and Anemia with Pyogenic Hepatic Abscess

Abstract

In a recent study of 130 autopsied cases of pyogenic hepatic abscess it was noted that both splenomegaly and a mild to moderate degree of anemia were present in many of the cases.¹ In an attempt to define further the apparent three-way relationship between the size of the liver abscess, splenomegaly, and anemia, a more detailed study of the splenic abnormalities was undertaken. Material and Methods Material was drawn largely from the autopsy files of the Mallory Institute of Pathology of the Boston City Hospital.^* Microscopic sections of spleen were reviewed from all 130 cases of hepatic abscess and from 15 additional control cases in which sudden death had occurred unassociated with any previous signs or symptoms of illness. Some of these latter sections were kindly furnished by Dr. Arthur O'Dea, formerly Chief Medical Examiner of Rhode Island. The review of splenic morphology was based on the available microscopic