Blood, 1958, Vol. 13, No. 7, pp. 631-641.
© 1958 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Splenic Mastocytosis
NORMAN ENDE 1 and
EDWARD I. CHERNISS 1
1 Laboratory Service, Medical Service and Research Laboratory, V.A. Hospital,
Fresno, California.
1. A patient with splenic mastocytosis who had hypersplenism, periodic
flushing and clotting defects is presented.
2. A correlation is shown between mastocytosis and elevated histamine
and heparin levels in the spleen.
3. The patient is well nine months after splenectomy.
4. Wright’s stain or polychrome methylene blue stain of splenic tissue imprints is recommended as a method of demonstrating mast cells in the spleen.
5. Mast cell counts of normal spleen showed 0 to 0.25% of nucleated cells
on imprint.
6. Splenic aspiration stained with Wright’s stain is satisfactory for demonstrating mastocytosis, though not dependable for true mast cell counts.
7. Cases of primary hypersplenism should routinely be reviewed for splenic
mastocytosis.
8. Splenic mastocytosis is a variant of systemic mast cell disease in which
involvement is predominately confined to the spleen.
Submitted on November 28, 1957
Accepted on February 5, 1958
