Visceromegaly in Acromegaly: Evidence that Clinical Hepatomegaly or Splenomegaly (but not Sialomegaly) Are Manifestations of a Second Disease

Although visceromegaly at necropsy is the rule in acromegaly, it was not detected clinically except in the presence of another disease process. Of 57 patients with acromegaly, nine had clinical hepatomegaly. In eight of these patients, a second disease process was detected that accounted for the organ enlargements. Hepatic function tests were almost uniformly normal. Two of the 57 patients had clinical splenomegaly. In both, a second disease process known to cause splenic enlargement was detected. The submaxillary salivary glands were unusually prominent in 87% of patients and noticeably enlarged in 26%. However, they were asymptomatic and the three glands that were examined histologically were normal, which is in agreement with previous findings.