What is a liver and spleen scan?
A liver and spleen scan is a nuclear scanning test. It uses a special camera to take pictures of these organs after a radioactive tracer is put into a vein in your arm. The tracer moves through your blood to your liver and spleen. Areas where the tracer collects in large amounts show up as bright spots in the pictures. Areas where it collects in low amounts or does not show up are seen as blank spots. The pattern in which the tracer spreads through the liver and spleen can help find problems in these organs.
Scans of the liver and the spleen are done at the same time.
Why is a liver and spleen scan done?
A liver and spleen scan is done to:
- Help find cysts, abscesses, and diseases of the spleen or liver. If liver disease has been diagnosed, a liver scan can help show how well the liver is working.
- Check for cirrhosis of the liver. In cirrhosis, healthy tissue in the liver is replaced with scar tissue.
- Look for cancer in the liver.
- See if cancer has spread (metastasized) to the liver or spleen.
- Look for problems of the liver and spleen after a belly injury.
How is a liver and spleen scan done?
- A small amount of radioactive tracer will be injected into a vein in your arm.
- You'll lie on your back on a table. A large scanning camera will be placed right above you. It may move slowly above and around your body, scanning for the tracer and recording pictures as the tracer moves into your liver and spleen. The camera does not give off any radiation, so you are not exposed to more radiation during the scan.
- You may be asked to move into different positions so the tracer spreads through the liver and spleen. You need to lie very still during each scan so the pictures are clear.
How do you prepare for a liver and spleen scan?
If you are breastfeeding, you may want to pump enough breast milk before the test to get through 1 to 2 days of feeding. The radioactive tracer used in this test can get into your breast milk and is not good for the baby.
What do the results of a liver and spleen scan mean?
The results of a liver and spleen scan are ready in 2 days.
| Normal: | Normal amounts of the radioactive tracer are found in the liver and spleen. No areas of large or small amounts of tracer are seen. The liver and spleen are normal in size, shape, and location. |
| Abnormal: | The tracer pattern in the liver may show diseases. The tracer pattern shows a cyst, an abscess, a collection of blood (hematoma), a lump made up of blood vessels (hemangioma), or a tumor. The tracer pattern in the spleen may not be in the right place or may show spleen tissue that was missed during surgery to remove the spleen (splenectomy). The liver or spleen may be enlarged because of a disease or may have an abnormal shape because a tumor is pressing against the organ. Certain types of tumors may cause large amounts of tracer to collect in the liver or spleen. Certain types of tumors may cause no tracer to collect in the liver or spleen. Some conditions cause more tracer to show up in the spleen than in the liver. |
©2011-2026 Healthwise, Incorporated