Traumatic splenic cyst: radiologic-pathologic correlation from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology

Traumatic splenic cyst is one of many diagnostic choices when a mass is found in the left upper quadrant. In the appropriate clinical setting, demonstration of an intrasplenic, unilocular, avascular, homogeneous, fluid-filled mass with a smooth, sharply marginated wall should suggest a splenic cyst. On pathological examination, an epithelial lining implies a developmental origin. More commonly, no such lining is found and old trauma is assumed to be the etiology.