Pathological Findings of Liver in Autopsy Cases A Study at Imphal

It is a known fact that silent liver diseases are common amongst apparently healthy individuals and are sometimes diagnosed only at autopsy. The present study was conducted in the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine during the period from September 2010 to August 2012 on 100 medicolegal autopsy cases brought to the mortuary of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal. The liver specimens from these cases were examined grossly as well as microscopically to establish presence of liver diseases and also to find out the types of liver diseases in relation to the age and sex of the studied cases. Maximum number of cases was in the 41–50 years age group (29%). Males predominated the study with a male: female ratio of 6: 1. Cirrhosis was the commonest finding comprising 25% of the cases, followed by chronic hepatitis 22%. Hepatomegaly was seen in 19% of the cases. Hepatic steatosis was the commonest cause of hepatomegaly followed by chronic hepatitis. The study was conducted only on specimens collected from the mortuary and may not reflect the actual pattern of liver diseases in the local population.