Abstract
Enlarged lymph nodes or an increase in the size of the spleen (splenomegaly) are seen during many infections, but can also be symptoms of many blood diseases. A lymphocytosis is present if the lymphocyte count in peripheral blood is increased to more than 4000/μL; a lymphopenia is present if the lymphocytes are decreased to less than 1000/μL. In general, a palpable spleen must be considered enlarged (splenomegaly). In order to measure the size of the spleen accurately, the spleen should be examined with ultrasound. The maximum normal size is approx 12×10×5 cm, as determined by ultrasonic evaluation. It is also possible, using ultrasound, to recognize infiltrates of malignant lymphomas or splenic infarcts. High-resolution computed tomography (CT) is also able to determine the spleen size accurately. Lymphadenopathy is a term for enlarged and/or pathological lymph nodes. Lymph nodes must be considered enlarged or pathological if they present as chain of multiple lymph nodes or their size measures more than 1 cm. Other commonly used methods are CT and magnetic resonance imaging.
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© 2007 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
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Munker, R. (2007). Lymphocytosis, Lymphocytopenia, Lymphadenopathy, and Splenomegaly. In: Munker, R., Hiller, E., Glass, J., Paquette, R. (eds) Modern Hematology. Contemporary Hematology. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-149-9_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-149-9_13
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-557-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-149-9
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