Abstract

Background: Autopsy study of liver aids in the knowledge of pathology by revealing lesions that were asymptomatic during life. Due to enormous functional reserve, many liver lesions are silent till late in the course of disease. Hence histopathological study of all liver specimens is necessary. Material and methods: The present study included 260 liver specimens from medicolegal autopsies received over a period of two years from August 2014 to July 2016. Thorough gross examination was done followed by microscopy. Result: The most common lesion was steatosis, accounting for 78 (30%) out of 260 liver specimens. There were 43 (16.5%) cases of congestion, 20 (7.8%) cases of hepatitis and 17 (6.5%) cases of steatohepatitis. Ten (4%) cases of cirrhosis were noted. Other lesions included microabscesses 7 (2.6%), granulomas 6 (2.3%), and one case (0.3%) each of bile duct hamartoma, sickle cell anemia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, extramedullary hematopoiesis, disseminated cryptococcosis and microfilarial infection. Conclusion: The present study showed that fatty change was the most common lesion encountered in liver specimens from medicolegal cases, followed by congestion and hepatitis. Hence histopathology of every liver specimen is must.

Keywords: Medicolegal autopsy; Fatty change; Cirrhosis.

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