Also called: Splenic diseases
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Spleen Diseases
Your spleen is an organ above your stomach and under your ribs on your left side. It is about as big as your fist. The spleen is part of your lymphatic system, which fights infection and keeps your body fluids in balance. It contains white blood cells that fight germs. Your spleen also helps control the amount of blood in your body, and destroys old and damaged cells.
Certain diseases might cause your spleen to swell. You can also damage or rupture your spleen in an injury, especially if it is already swollen. If your spleen is too damaged, you might need surgery to remove it. You can live without a spleen. Other organs, such as your liver, will take over some of the spleen's work. Without a spleen, however, your body will lose some of its ability to fight infections.
It sits within Immune System.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Spleen Diseases
667 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Rituxan/Bendamustine/PCI-32765 in Relapsed DLBCL, MCL, or Indolent Non-Hodgkin's LymphomaKami Maddocks, MD
- Natural History Study of Monoclonal B Cell Lymphocytosis (MBL), Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (CLL/SLL), Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma (LPL)/Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia (WM), and Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma (SMZL)National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- Testing Mosunetuzumab Alone, With Zanubrutinib, or With Polatuzumab Vedotin for Treating Marginal Zone Lymphoma That Came Back or Didn't Get Better With TreatmentSWOG Cancer Research Network
- Qiling Yiqi Tablets Plus Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV Immune Non-responders With Lung-Spleen Qi DeficiencyBeijing University of Chinese Medicine
- Fuyang Jiedu Granules Plus Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV Immune Non-Responders With Spleen-Kidney Yang DeficiencyBeijing University of Chinese Medicine
- Ultrasound Neuroimmune Modulation in Adults With Rheumatoid ArthritisSurf Therapeutics
Research already completed
- Pembrolizumab Alone or With Idelalisib or Ibrutinib in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia or Other Low-Grade B-Cell Non-Hodgkin LymphomasMayo Clinic
- Effect of XingpiJieyu Formula on Mitochondrial Energy Metabolism in Severe Liver-Stagnation and Spleen-Deficiency Depression.Peking University Sixth Hospital
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Overview of the SpleenMerck & Co., Inc.
Diagnosis and Tests
- Abdominal UltrasoundRadiological Society of North America
Treatments and Therapies
- Spleen Removal (Splenectomy) SurgerySociety of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
- Spleen removal - series -- Normal anatomyMedical Encyclopedia
- SplenectomyMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Genetics
- Isolated congenital asplenia: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Splenic DiseasesNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: SplenomegalyNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Splenic Diseases. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Spleen Diseases, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.