Congenital Malformations of the Heart and Great Vessels Associated with Splenic Anomalies other than Agenesis

Summary Cases with hypoplastic or multiple spleens may show cardiac defects and anomalies of the great vessels indistinguishable from those with agenesis of the spleen. Four examples of this fact are given in short case reports. Six random examples from the literature confirm these statements. The possibility of mistaking an accessory liver for a spleen, grossly, has been pointed out. Two cases in the literature where this reasoning may apply have been found, and two of the author's own cases with accessory livers without spleens have been referred to. The significance of hypoplastic or partitioned spleen is difficult to ascertain. The interpretation of the time during embryogenesis when this type of maldevelopment occurred is fallacious. As the purpose of this study is to catch cardiac deformities that can be assumed to have gone astray at the time of early splenic organogenesis, it would be inviting too many sources of error to include cases with malformed spleens of the type outlined above, especially since congenital heart disease is not a constant feature.