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The Autopsy and the Living

Arch Intern Med. 1999;159:2391-2392.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

INTRODUCTION

A 62-YEAR-OLD white woman was found dead in her bed one morning. She had gone to bed the night before complaining of a headache. Her medical history included hypertension, mild obesity, and recent headaches; otherwise, her health had been good. A complete autopsy was requested by her family and physician.

AUTOPSY FINDINGS

The autopsy showed diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by a ruptured berry aneurysm of the middle cerebral artery. Her heart weight was increased to 500 g, the left ventricular wall thickness was increased to 2.0 cm, and both kidneys showed granular surfaces consistent with nephrosclerosis. Microscopic examination of sections of the heart showed hypertrophic myocytes and enlarged barrel-shaped nuclei; the kidneys showed scarred glomerular tufts typical of nephrosclerosis. All of these findings are typical in patients with a history of hypertension.

A 1.5-cm nodule in the left breast was an incidental finding. Histologic analysis of sections showed the tumor to be . . . [Full Text of this Article]

COMMENT

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Case of the Month: Wrapping Things Up
Hanzlick and the Autopsy Committee of the College of American P
Arch Intern Med 2000;160:3029-3031.
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