Although portal venography has been extensively used to study the extrahepatic portal venous system (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 12, 13), only relatively minimal attention has been paid to evaluation of the diseased liver by means of the same procedure (1, 2, 7, 8). Rigler and Olfelt (10, 11) have employed aortography to visualize the portal venous system and by this transcapillary method to opacify the liver. Daniel et at. (5) in 1952 demonstrated the potentiality of direct portal venography for study of the cirrhotic liver in rats in which cirrhosis had been experimentally produced. We have found splenoportography a useful means for investigation of certain disease processes of the liver. The present paper constitutes a preliminary report of such a study. The technic routinely employed in this project is as follows: 40 c.c, of opaque medium (70 per cent Urokon) is injected into the spleen in approximately twelve seconds. Serial films are made at two, four, six, eight, and twelve seconds following the beginning of injection and thereafter at four-second intervals up to thirtytwo seconds. The final three films are made at thirty-seven, forty-two, and sixty seconds. This technic permits evaluation not only of the extrahepatic portal vessels but also accomplishes opacification of the intrahepatic vasculature (Fig. 3). The latter takes place in two phases. The first is a visualization of the intrahepatic portal vein branches and is termed the intrahepatic vasculogram. The second phase of opacification, called the hepatogram, frequently follows. This consists in diffuse opacification of the liver, presumably due to the presence of opaque medium in the sinusoids. The appearance may be likened to the hepatogram obtained with thorium dioxide, although the mechanism of opacification in the latter (pick-up of opaque medium by the reticulo-endothelial cells) is different. The present study is based on 42 successfully executed serial splenic portograms in patients with cirrhosis. In 27 of these the diagnosis was proved by biopsy; in 15 it was established on clinical and laboratory grounds. In all of the 15 cases with a clinical diagnosis, two or more of the following factors were present, and at least two positive liver-function tests were obtained: (a) a positive history of chronic alcoholism, hepatitis, or other cause for liver damage; (b) hepatomegaly with or without splenomegaly; (c) ascites. Eight liver-function tests were routinely employed (prothrombin, Hanger, thymol turbidity, alkaline phosphatase, A/G ratio, cholesterol and cholesterol esters, Bromsulphalein, and serum bilirubin). The Intrahepatic Vasculogram The normal intrahepatic portal tree shows a symmetrical arborization with branches evenly distributed. Branching vessels gradually diminish in size and there is a full complement of small and fine end vessels (Figure 1, A). The right-lobe branches are regularly opacified. The leftlobe branches are frequently only partially opacified or not at all.