Autopsy
Autopsy is a part of pathology.
External exam
Is very important in the forensic context.
External exam findings are found in the forensic pathology article.
Internal exam
Is usually where the money is in non-forensic autopsies, i.e. hospital autopsies.
Hyoid bone
- Important in forensic pathology.
- Fracture is seen in manual strangulation.
- May appear fractured if triticeous cartilage (or triticeal cartilage) is present;[1][2] triticeous cartilage may be confused with a fragment of hyoid bone.
Spleen
Main article: Spleen
Sugar-coated spleen
- Properly referred to as hyaloserositis of the spleen.
- Capsule of the spleen is white - resembles sugar-coating.
- Importance: none - benign.
Liver
- Portal vein patency.
Kidney
Size of the kidney - small kidneys are seen in chronic renal failure.
Nephrosclerosis
- Flea-bitten appearance - seen in hypertension.[3]
ATN
- ATN is difficult to prove on autopsy material.
- Look for:
- Heme-granular casts in the lumen.
- Regenerative activity (mitoses).
Brain
- One should saw through the skull completely, i.e. one should not "crack" the skull open with a chisel.
- Cracking open the skull may result in artefactual fractures that are impossible to differentiate from antemortem fractures.
- Cuts into the brain (from opening the skull) are not difficult to distinguish from antemortem injuries.
Weird stuff
- Leukostasis in acute myelogenous leukemia can lead to congestion of organs and fatal haemorrhages.
- Hyperviscosity syndrome - in leukemia.[6]
Starvation
- Serous fat atrophy.
- Gross appearance: brown goo replaces fat.
- May be associated with blood vessel tortuosity.[7]
- Gross appearance: brown goo replaces fat.
Normal organ mass
Caucasoid population of 684 adults:[8]
| Men | Women | |
| Heart | 365 +/- 71 g | 312 +/- 78 g |
| Right lung | 663 +/- 239 g | 546 +/- 207 g |
| Left lung | 583 +/- 216 g | 467 +/- 174 g |
| Liver | 1677 +/- 396 g | 1475 +/- 362 g |
| Spleen | 156 +/- 87 g | 140 +/- 78 g |
| Right kidney | 162 +/- 39 g | 135 +/- 39 g |
| Left kidney | 160 +/- 41 g | 136 +/- 37 g |
See also
References
- ↑ Di Nunno N, Lombardo S, Costantinides F, Di Nunno C (March 2004). "Anomalies and alterations of the hyoid-larynx complex in forensic radiographic studies". Am J Forensic Med Pathol 25 (1): 14–9. PMID 15075682.
- ↑ URL: http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/Prof.Hamam/curses/Jurnals%20Club/225-Triticeous%20cartilage.pdf. Accessed on: 10 September 2010.
- ↑ Ono, H.; Ono, Y. (Nov 1997). "Nephrosclerosis and hypertension.". Med Clin North Am 81 (6): 1273-88. PMID 9356598.
- ↑ Heemskerk, S.; van Haren, FM.; Foudraine, NA.; Peters, WH.; van der Hoeven, JG.; Russel, FG.; Masereeuw, R.; Pickkers, P. (Feb 2008). "Short-term beneficial effects of methylene blue on kidney damage in septic shock patients.". Intensive Care Med 34 (2): 350-4. doi:10.1007/s00134-007-0867-9. PMID 17926021.
- ↑ Tan, CD.; Rodriguez, ER.. "Blue dye, green heart.". Cardiovasc Pathol 19 (2): 125-6. doi:10.1016/j.carpath.2008.06.012. PMID 18703358.
- ↑ http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18942659
- ↑ KC. 14 September 2010.
- ↑ de la Grandmaison GL, Clairand I, Durigon M (June 2001). "Organ weight in 684 adult autopsies: new tables for a Caucasoid population". Forensic Sci. Int. 119 (2): 149–54. PMID 11376980.