Splenomegaly is recognised as one of the diagnostic signs of cirrhosis and portal hypertension. In the present study, spleen size measured by ultrasonography was an independent predictor for the presence of large varices. Similar results have been reported by Chalasani et al. in cirrhotic patients during evaluation for liver transplantation, whereas no correlation was found in three other studies . These differences may be due to the differences among studies regarding the etiology and the stage of liver cirrhosis of the studied population. Splenomegaly was found more frequently in posthepatitic cirrhosis than in alcoholic cirrhosis