Acute lymphocytic leukemia manifesting as splenic rupture

Pathologic rupture of the spleen is a rare phenomenon in acute lymphocytic leukemia, and its mechanism is unknown. This complication has been seen almost exclusively in men, and at ages much older than those of the majority of patients who have this leukemia; these unusual features are also unexplained. A case of acute lymphoctyic leukemia with pathologic rupture of the spleen in which the pathologic findings suggest that the splenic rupture was due to infiltration and destruction of the splenic capsule by leukemic cells is reported.