kristin gee

Background Hyposplenism, or a poorly functioning spleen, and asplenia, or splenic absence, are not uncommon.1 The spleen is a central regulator of immune homeostasis and scavenger of damaged red blood cells, and a decline in its function may accompany medical disease. Complete absence is normally a consequence of surgical resection. The spleen is removed for many reasons but, most commonly, splenectomy is required after abdominal trauma because of massive bleeding.