Spontaneous rupture of normal spleen: an enigma recalled

That a normal spleen can rupture spontaneously has long been a point of debate. A definitive case is reported here in an attempt to resolve the issue in its favour. Spleen involved in tropical diseases like malaria, infectious mononucleosis and typhoid fever is prone to rupture spontaneously as well as in cases follow minor trauma. In contrast, normal spleen ruptures almost always following severe trauma, such as road accidents or fall from significant heights. Though cases of spontaneous rupture of normal spleens have appeared off and on in the past, doubt has always surrounded the very existence of such an entity. We are reporting a definitive case of spontaneous rupture of normal spleen. This is only the second case of its kind since 1958 and the first ever from the Indian subcontinent.