Post Mortem Changes Flashcards
What is the area circled in yellow called? In green?
Yellow: Chicken Fat Clot
Green: Jelly Clot
How do you tell the difference between a blood clot that forms antemortem and one that forms postmortem?
Antimortem clot: Dry, friable, and attached to the lumen of the vein.
Postmortem clot: Pale in spots due to livor mortis. Clot is easily detached from and is wet and shiny.
What can cause fluid leakage in patients post mortem?
If patient is frozen and then thawed, fluid leakage is evident
How can you tell an antemortem intussception vs. a post mortem intususseption?
Antemortem: Gut is dark red due to congestion and is thickened/ wet due to edema. The cause of this is increased peristalsis. which can be.
Postmortem: Intestinal invagination of wall that leads to edema/ necrosis due to compression of the wall in antemortem change. Can occur post mortem due to peristalsis continues post mortem for a while, as long as there is no hemorrhage, edema, inflammation ect then it is a post mortem change.
What is occuring in this picture? Is it a post mortem or antimortem change? Why?
This is rumen mucosal sloughing, this is an postmortem change and as you can see in the image their are no signs of hemorrhage or inflammation so this has occured after death.
Common post mortem change that gets misinterpreted as lesion is rumen mucosal sloughing. Lining peels off easily. Tissue reaction not present= post mortem change.
What is occuring in this picture? What causes it? Post mortem vs. Antimortem?
Pseudomelanosis
• Iron sulfide accumulation due to contact with the gut. Bacteria from the gut continues to proliferate and produce iron sulfide.
What is an important characteristic for pseudomelanosis?
Only superficial area is black because it was the only area in contact with the gut.
What is occuring in this image? Is this post mortem change or antimortem change? What causes it?
• Gas distention is a normal Post mortem process. It is due to the
growth of gut bacteria flora. Usually clostridium causes it.
Can be confused with ruminal tympany but this is a post mortem change because there are no signs of inflammatory response or any hemmorhage.
What is occuring in this picture? Is it post mortem or antemortem? Why?
Post Mortem. Rectal prolapse
This is because of the build up of pressure in the abdomen due to the bacterial growth.
What are 2 things that can happen to skin post mortem and why?
- ) Livor Mortis : Due to blood pooling. This can occur within organs also. The blood will pool based on gravity
- ) Color change of skin due to acids produced by bacteria.
What can cause bloody nasal discharge in patients post mortem?
Secondary to swelling there is also degradation of vessel walls, which allows for bloody fluid to leak. This comes from nose, mouth ears, ect.
What allows for ruminal reflux, and what can it be confused with? Why is it not that? Hint: it is an antemortem finding?
Post mortem: Rumen dilates which allows for ruminal reflux.
Do not confuse reflux with aspiration pneumonia. If there is not any tissue reaction in the lungs, then it is not aspiration pneumonia. Tissue reaction is inflammation, ect,
What are the differences between post mortem and antemortem gastric rupture?
Post mortem: After death, bacteria keeps proliferating and form gas which can cause rupture of the stomach. The edges are discrete and thin. Postmortem digestion by acidic gastric juice also will contribute to it.
Antemortem: Antemortem gastric rupture shows signs of hemorrhage, inflammation, ect. Can lead to peritonitis and death. Serosa has pinpoint redness and other secondary tissue reactions.
What is occuring in this image? Did it occur post mortem or antemortem ?
Example of Antimortem blood clot. Dry, friable, and attached to lumen of the vein.
What is occuring in this image? Why?
• Tissues surrounding gallbladder will become stained yellow due to degradation of gall bladder wall.
What is occuring in this image? Why?
• Lysis of erythrocytes will cause the hemaglobin to stain the vessel wall/ arteries. Not hemolysis. Important to know Time of death because if you see this and patient died < 30 minutes prior this could be a sign of intravascular hemolysis (ie antemortem change)
What can Hemoglobin Imbibition indicate when seen on the external side of organs?
• When you see this hemoglobin imbibition on the external side of organs it can indicate rupture that caused hemorrhage. CPR can also cause hemorrhages in the liver and leakage of blood, so know the patients history thoroughly to rule out interventional causes.
What is this change associated with, is it post mortem or antimortem? Is this common practice anymore?
• Intracardiac euthanasia used to be common with pentobarbitol. Solution can cause the solution to precipitate and look like mineralization. Know how euthanasia was administered.
What can indicate improper euthanasia technique when a cardiac stick has been prefomed to administer the euthanasia solution?
Coagulative Necrosis of Myocardium
- Intracardiac sticks into the myocardium ( inappropriate) instead of the lumen of the ventricles, can cause necrosis of myocardial cells which needs to be noted. Route of euthanasia solution administration can indicate if this was related to administration of euthanasia solution or not.
- This image indicates coagulative necrosis. Tissue is solid and architecture remains. No evidince of neutraphils.
What causes the spleen to look like this postmortem?
• Irregular distribution in spleen is common, during death spleen contracts and pulls blood to the periphery. The blood gets distributed irregularly in the paranchyma of the spleen.
What is occuring in this image? Is this a post mortem or antimortem change?
• abdominal distension causes organs to press against rib cage so you may see these rib impressions.
What is occuring to the organ in this image? Is this post mortem/ antimortem? What pathogen is usually the cause for this?
- pale central area is due to intestinal distension being in contact with that focal area and causes blood to move to the periphery of the intestines. Poorly demarcated, rib impressions usually indicates postmortem changes. Do not confuse with necrosis that is normally clearly demarcated.
- Softening of liver/ areas rich of enzymes, and feel for normal organ density. But know softening is normal in these organs.
- The gas bubbles and discoloring is all due to proliferation of bacteria post mortem.
CLOSTRIDIUM IS THE BACTERIA THAT CAUSES THIS.
What can be seen in advance stages of decomposition like in this picture?
• advances stage of decomposition will show dark green discoloration, large gas bubbles and very clear softening.
Where can clostridium effect post mortem? How does it travel?
• Clostridium will go into the circulatory system and will effect all organs. This will cause gas bubbles to appear in organs like the brain due to clostridium proliferation.
What can lens clouding indicate? Is it a postmortem or an antimortem change? How can you tell if it is because of cataracts vs. typical?
• Lens clouding can occur post mortem. Not a cataract. Occurs due to cold temperature. Lens is frozen in this picture. Lens clouds very easily in cold temperature. Recheck lens after finishing to see if the lens has returned to normal (i.e.: Thawed)
