Weight and Morphometry of the Human Spleen in Adult Cadavers at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

The spleen is the largest lymphoid organ in the body, playing central roles in immune surveillance, erythrocyte filtration, and haematopoiesis in pathological states. Accurate normative data on splenic morphometry are important for interpreting clinical imaging findings and recognising pathological conditions such as splenomegaly, which is common in malaria-endemic regions of Nigeria. Most reference data available to Nigerian clinicians are derived from non-African populations. This study aims to document the weight, length, breadth, and thickness of the human spleen in adult cadavers at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State, in the South South geopolitical zone. Spleens will be carefully excised during routine cadaveric dissection and measured with Vernier callipers and a precision scale. Data will be categorised by sex and estimated age group. The influence of malaria history and sickle cell trait on splenic dimensions will be explored using next-of-kin questionnaires. Findings will be compared with available Nigerian and West African data. This study will provide locally relevant splenic morphometric norms useful to radiologists, haematologists, and surgeons in Rivers State.

Keywords: spleen morphometry, cadaveric anatomy, splenomegaly, Rivers State, normative data