Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- 1 The microbiological investigation of sudden unexpected death in infancy
- 2 An overview of childhood lymphomas
- 3 Assessment of the brain in the hospital consented autopsy
- 4 The value of immunohistochemistry as a diagnostic aid in gynaecological pathology
- 5 The role of the pathologist in the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy: a personal view
- 6 Metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown origin
- 7 Immune responses to tumours: current concepts and applications
- 8 Post-mortem imaging – an update
- 9 Understanding the Human Tissue Act 2004
- 10 The Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meeting and the role of pathology
- 11 Drug induced liver injury
- Index
- References
3 - Assessment of the brain in the hospital consented autopsy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2010
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- 1 The microbiological investigation of sudden unexpected death in infancy
- 2 An overview of childhood lymphomas
- 3 Assessment of the brain in the hospital consented autopsy
- 4 The value of immunohistochemistry as a diagnostic aid in gynaecological pathology
- 5 The role of the pathologist in the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy: a personal view
- 6 Metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown origin
- 7 Immune responses to tumours: current concepts and applications
- 8 Post-mortem imaging – an update
- 9 Understanding the Human Tissue Act 2004
- 10 The Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meeting and the role of pathology
- 11 Drug induced liver injury
- Index
- References
Summary
EXAMINATION OF THE BRAIN AT AUTOPSY – AN APPROACH
This chapter considers the pathological changes that may be found in brains examined in non-forensic autopsies, where the pathology falls within the general heading of ‘natural causes’. Following recent organ-retention issues hospital consented autopsy practice has undergone marked change, resulting in a decline in the proportion of hospital deaths that come to autopsy. A recent audit in this hospital showed a fall in the autopsy rate for in-hospital deaths from 7.8% in 1997 to 3.2% in 2001, with a parallel reduction in the number of brains being retained for formal neuropathology examination within the region. In the ‘Guidelines on Autopsy Practice’ (2002) published by The Royal College of Pathologists it is advised that,
‘All major organs (heart, lungs, brain, liver and kidneys) should be dissected in order to facilitate examination of the blood and drainage in addition to relations with adjacent structures. These organs should be separated and weighed. If permitted and clinically relevant, fixation of the intact brain, followed by a detailed examination by a neuropathologist, produces a higher detection rate of abnormalities.’ [1]
Furthermore, it is suggested that occasions where the contents of the cranial cavity are not examined ‘should be exceptional’. This advice is intended to support a full and thorough approach to autopsy practice at the same time as facilitating training in autopsy techniques.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Progress in Pathology , pp. 49 - 72Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007
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