[Dixielandjazz] Query re Banti's disease

[Norman Vickers]

To: DJML
From:  Norman Vickers, Jazz Society of Pensacola



Bob Ringwald wrote:
>Bill Oakley wrote that Art Hickman died from Banti's disease.  Perhaps one 
>of our physician members can explain what is Banti's disease?

Briefly:  Banti's disease ( or more properly Banti's Syndrome) is a
condition in which the spleen is enlarged and destroys red blood cells
prematurely. This results in anemia.  There are multiple causes for this
condition--
Occlusion of the splenic vein, cirrhosis of the liver causing  venous blood
to be diverted through the spleen rather than being filtered through the
liver and directly back to the heart.  Also there are other, sometimes
unknown (idiopathic) causes.  For those who wish to pursue this further,
there are succinct description on the web at Wikipedia and  WebMD.Thank you.

Norman Vickers,
active jazz enthusiast and retired gastroenterologist