Your spleen is an organ that sits just below your left rib cage. Many conditions — including infections, liver disease and some cancers — can cause an enlarged spleen. An enlarged spleen is also known as splenomegaly (spleh-no-MEG-uh-lee).
An enlarged spleen usually doesn’t cause symptoms. It’s often discovered during a routine physical exam. A doctor usually can’t feel the spleen in an adult unless it’s enlarged. Imaging and blood tests can help identify the cause of an enlarged spleen.
Treatment for an enlarged spleen depends on what’s causing it. Surgery to remove an enlarged spleen usually isn’t needed, but sometimes it’s recommended.
Symptoms
An enlarged spleen typically causes no signs or symptoms, but sometimes it causes:
- Pain or fullness in the left upper belly that can spread to the left shoulder
- A feeling of fullness without eating or after eating a small amount because the spleen is pressing on your stomach
- Low red blood cells (anemia)
- Frequent infections
- Bleeding easily
