Liver, spleen and kidney cultures in different conditions of splenic preservation

The appearance of the postsplenectomy syndrome has made investigators focus all attention on the immunitary aspects that could change following a splenic extirpation. Besides this, bacterial clearance has been considered fundamental in this pathology. We present an experimental study comparing liver, spleen and kidney cultures in different conditions of splenic preservation, including autotransplantation, and with sepsis induced by the inoculation of capsulated Escherichia coli. The majority of tissue cultures were positive, showing, in must cases, a statistical correlation between the number of microorganisms in each organ for every animal. This confirms that all three organs act alike, as bacterial filters.