A rare presentation of splenic rupture

Traumatic rupture of the spleen is a well known problem, complicating many types of abdominal injury. In contrast, a spontaneous rupture is a rare occurrence, mainly associated with a large spleen resulting from infections, the most common in this country being infectious mononucleosis. It is also a rare complication of leukaemias and lymphomas and the case presented here demonstrates a peculiar diagnostic problem.