Background: Autopsy is crucial to identify asymptomatic and often undiagnosed lesions.Renal diseases have high morbidity and mortality and the information provided by morphological evaluation of renal autopsy specimens is crucial to prevent renal disease that tends to be asymptomatic. Hence this study was undertaken to analyze the morphological features of kidney lesions in autopsy specimens.

Materials and methods: The study was conducted on renal specimens from routine autopsies, over duration of five years, at a south Indian tertiary health care center. The specimens were evaluated morphologically and histological sections were interpreted and classified into glomerular lesions, nonglomerular lesions and normal findings.

Results: A total of 570 specimens from 285 autopsies, with mean age of 38.8 years and male: female ratio of 3.4:1, were included in the study. The major cause of death was cardiorespiratory failure (36.4%). Normal histology was identified in 63.5% of the kidneys. Tubulointerstitial,
glomerular, cystic, vascular and neoplastic lesions were identified in 22.8%, 5.6%, 3.9%, 3.5% and 0.4% of the kidneys, respectively.
Conclusion: The frequency of renal lesions encountered in autopsies was 36.5%. Nonglomerular lesions outnumbered gomerular lesions with male predominance. The commonest tubulointerstitial lesion was acute tubular necrosis. Chronic glomerulonephritis, benign nephrosclerosis and simple renal cysts were the major glomerular, vascular and cystic
lesions identified, respectively. Thus, through autopsy, varied preventable renal lesions that tend to be asymptomatic can be discovered and this data is indispensible for further assessment
of the disease trends.

Keywords: Autopsy; Glomerular lesions; Nonglomerular lesions; Renal lesions; Renal specimens.