The hyperactivity of the spleen is one of the negative consequences of having an enlarged spleen. Hypersplenism is the medical term for this condition. While an overactive spleen’s natural duty is to filter out worn-out blood cells, it will decommission blood cells at an excessively fast rate, even removing or sequestering healthy ones from the flow. Because an enlarged spleen traps blood cells for long periods of time, there is a shortage of healthy blood corpuscles in circulation.
Cytopenia is a lack of blood corpuscles that can manifest in various ways depending on the kind of blood cell involved. Anemia is defined as a lack of red blood cells. Leukopenia refers to a lack of white blood cells, while thrombopenia refers to a lack of platelets.