Spleen enlargement is an enlargement of the spleen beyond its normal size. The spleen is located on the left side of the abdomen and weighs around 200g (8oz) in the average healthy adult. The spleen can be considered a dual-purpose organ: it filters the blood and removes abnormal cells (such as old and defective red blood cells), and it makes disease-fighting components of the immune system (including antibodies and lymphocytes).

Since the spleen is involved in so many bodily functions, it is vulnerable to a wide range of disorders involving the blood or lymph system, and by infection, malignancies, liver disease, or parasites. Our TCM clinical practice has showed that integration of Chinese medicine and western medicine is a very good choice for this disease. When treating enlarged spleen, Chinese doctors will take everything into consideration, including the following conditons.

1. Diverse kinds of anemia which are hemolytic.
2. Pressure on the veins of the liver or spleen or a blood clot in these veins
3. Metabolic disorders, such as Niemann-Pick disease and Gaucher’s disease
4. Viral infection, for example mononucleosis
5. Parasitic infections, for instance malaria
6. Bacterial infection such as endocarditis or syphilis
7. Cirrhosis as well as other diseases which affects the liver
8. Blood cancers, for instance leukemia