THE EFFECT OF EXERCISE ON NORMAL SPLENIC VOLUME MEASURED WITH SPECT

In a study group of 20 healthy young men, splenic volume was determine d with SPECT before and after exercise. A randomly chosen control grou p of 10 comparable men was studied similarly, but without exercise int ervention. The mean splenic volume did not change significantly in the control group (i.e., from 292.9 ml to 282.1 mi [P = 0.75]). The mean splenic volume decreased 60.1 ml from 279.4 to 219.3 ml (21.5%) in the study group and this was highly significant (P = 0.01). Although exer cise induced splenic autotransfusion is generally considered to be uni mportant in humans, significant splenic contractility was observed wit h this technique. In the normal individual with a large spleen or with functional splenomegaly, the contractility response may become more i mportant and can now be measured in a quick and easy manner.