Maternal Spleen Size Throughout Normal Pregnancy

Ultrasonography (US) is an accurate method with reproducible results for calculating splenic dimensions. Standards of normal spleen sizes have been developed for the general adult population, for children, and even for tall healthy athletes, thereby enabling US diagnosis of splenomegaly. Extrapolation of data from the normal population to pregnant women might, however, be inaccurate because of the physiological changes throughout gestation. We have recently reported a prospective study evaluating the size of the maternal spleen throughout pregnancy and hereby review the results and their implications.