A morphological, biochemical, and radioautographic study in rats

Abstract

Splenectomy has long been an establishmd surgical procedure in various conditions, including trauma. Because total splenectomy has often been correlated with sepsis, every surgeon tries to preserve as much of the injured spleen as possible. Contradictory reports have been published as to whether regeneration of the remaining splenic tissue is possible. In the present study, 28 Sprague-Dawley rats (≈ 100 g) were divided into four groups. They underwent two-thirds partial splenectomy; the remaining splenic tissue was examined after 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months postoperatively. The following parameters were determined: weight, length, and protein and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content of the remaining spleen. The incorporation of 3H-thymidine into the remaining spleen tissue was also measured. Histology and radioautography were studied in parallel. Results were compared with control animals that were operated upon but with no partial splenectomy. One day, 1 week, and 1 month following partial splenectomy, a slight increase in weight, length, protein, and DNA content as well as incorporation of the radioisotope into cellular DNA was found. By 3 months after the operation, there was no difference in the above parameters between the experimental animals and controls.