Splenomegaly - Atlas of swine pathology

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Possible causes: ErysipelaSalmonellosisClassical Swine FeverAfrican swine fever

Lesion found in a fattening pig at an abattoir. The spleen is very enlarged, congested and with adhesions of the omentum. Upon sectioning there was abundant dark red blood (bloody spleen). This lesion is secondary to compromised vasculature, both in the blood vessels that enter and exit the spleen. The most common causes of a bloody spleen are congestion (torsion of the stomach in which the spleen becomes trapped, splenic twisting, euthanasia with barbiturates, anaesthesia and sedation), classical swine fever, African swine fever, portal hypertension and splenic vein thrombosis.

Enlarged, but not congestive spleens are normally called “meaty” spleens due to their firm texture and consistency. This condition normally comes as the result of cell proliferation, especially macrophages from the red pulp, and of the increase in phagocytosis, as it happens, for example, in the case of bacteremias (salmonellosis or erysipelas) and neoplasias (lymphoma).