Which condition involves twisting of a spleen due to misplaced ligaments, potentially causing an acute abdomen?

Which condition involves twisting of a spleen due to misplaced ligaments, potentially causing an acute abdomen?

• A. Accessory spleen
• B. Situs Solitus
• C. Wandering spleen
• D. Heterotaxia

Answer: (C)

A wandering spleen happens when the spleen is abnormally mobile because its supporting ligaments are lax or absent, allowing it to move to different parts of the abdomen. This mobility lets the spleen twist around its vascular pedicle (torsion), which can cut off both arterial inflow and venous outflow. The result can be splenic ischemia or infarction and presents as an acute abdomen. In ultrasound, you may find the spleen in an abnormal location, with Doppler showing reduced or absent blood flow and a twisted pedicle may be suggested by a whirl of vessels. The other options describe different embryologic or anatomic situations that don’t involve a mobile spleen twisting to cause acute torsion. An accessory spleen is extra splenic tissue; situs solitus is normal organ arrangement; heterotaxia is abnormal, but not specifically a mobile spleen twisting into an acute abdomen.

A wandering spleen happens when the spleen is abnormally mobile because its supporting ligaments are lax or absent, allowing it to move to different parts of the abdomen. This mobility lets the spleen twist around its vascular pedicle (torsion), which can cut off both arterial inflow and venous outflow. The result can be splenic ischemia or infarction and presents as an acute abdomen. In ultrasound, you may find the spleen in an abnormal location, with Doppler showing reduced or absent blood flow and a twisted pedicle may be suggested by a whirl of vessels. The other options describe different embryologic or anatomic situations that don’t involve a mobile spleen twisting to cause acute torsion. An accessory spleen is extra splenic tissue; situs solitus is normal organ arrangement; heterotaxia is abnormal, but not specifically a mobile spleen twisting into an acute abdomen.