Splenoportography

In 1951, Abeatici and Campi1demonstrated that there was free vascular communication between the splenic pulp and the portal venous system. Soon thereafter, Leger2performed the first successful splenoportogram in a human. Contrast material injected directly into the substance of the spleen flowed rapidly through multiple venous radicles into the splenic vein and then into the portal vein and liver, opacifying these structures in turn. In the past 15 years, percutaneous splenoportography has come into wide use and has made a major contribution in delineation of the pathologic anatomy and hemodynamics in patients with portal hypertension.3-6 The portal vein (Fig 1) is formed by the confluence of the splenic and superior mesenteric veins behind the neck of the pancreas overlying the vertebral bodies of L-1 and L-2. The portal vein courses upward and to the right behind the first portion of the duodenum and enters the liver