Sometimes things are what they seem

Accessory spleen is a frequent congenital abnormality (10-20%) resulting in the fusion failure of splenunculi. We present a case report of a 74 year-old man with a nodule identified in the tail of the pancreas of 1.8 cm x 1.5 cm in size. The CT scan showed soft tissue attenuation and arterial hyperenhancement with a lower uptake in the central area, low 18-FDG affinity and no evidence of 111-In-octretide uptake. A solid, round and well-circumscribed nodule was defined as an intrapancreatic accessory spleen (IPAS) by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), due to shared ultrasonographic characteristics and a pattern of contrast enhancement with the spleen. The material obtained by EUS guided puncture was consistent with a lymph node. A distal pancreatectomy confirmed the presence of an IPAS.