Visualization of the spleen with a bone-seeking radionuclide in a child with sickle-cell anemia

99mTc-methylene diphosphonate, a bone-seeking radionuclide, accumulated in the spleen of a 16-year-old boy with sickle-cell anemia even though no splenic calcification was visible. This may be explained by the presence of microscopic calcium deposits in the spleen, which form at an early age in this disease. Bone-seeking radionuclides may accumulate in regions of recent splenic infarction, as has been demonstrated in cerebral and myocardial infarction. Such radionuclides may be the only means of demonstrating the spleen in such patients.