Splenomegaly

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An abnormal enlargement of the spleen, often caused by infection, liver disease, or blood disorders
2. A medical condition in which the spleen becomes swollen beyond its normal size, typically as a sign of an underlying illness
3. Enlargement of the organ in the upper left abdomen that filters blood, usually signaling another disease process

Etymology: Splenomegaly is a medical term for an enlarged spleen, and its making is plain: it combines "spleno-", from the Greek "splen" meaning spleen, with "-megaly", from the Greek "megas" meaning large. The ancient Greeks understood the spleen as an organ of some importance, though its role in the body was misunderstood for centuries. The compound itself is a modern construction assembled from classical roots, the same method used to build most scientific and medical vocabulary in English, rather than a word that circulated in antiquity. The second element is the more productive one. "-megaly" appears in many clinical terms describing an enlarged organ, such as cardiomegaly for an enlarged heart and hepatomegaly for an enlarged liver. Doctors could take the first part, name the organ, and attach the suffix to describe the condition in a standard way. The result is a word whose structure tells you its meaning before you look it up: the spleen, made large.