A Retrospective Study of Histopathological Changes in Liver in Medicolegal Autopsy: A Tertiary Care Center Study

INTRODUCTION: The liver is referred to as “the custodian of the internal milieu”. Liver diseases are often accompanied by significant changes in the morphology of liver and hence analysis of these lesions can be important in determining the apparent cause of death in certain individuals. Autopsy can provide important information regarding risk and disease progression and hence gives an opportunity to evaluate the effect of these lesions. AIM OF STUDY: To study histopathological changes in liver in medicolegal autopsy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective observational study of 75 liver specimens received for medicolegal autopsy received in the Department of Pathology, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi over a period of one year (April 2024 to March 2025) were done. Sections were taken from the representative tissue and stained with hematoxylin & eosin. Special stains were put wherever required. RESULT: The age of the patients varied from 5 days to 81-year-old with male to female ratio of 24:1. The histopathological findings noted were sinusoidal congestion, macro and microvesicular steatosis, ballooning degeneration, chronic venous congestion, cirrhosis and hepatitis. One case of liver adenomatosis was also found incidentally. CONCLUSION: Histopathological examination of liver in autopsy plays a significant role in understanding the pathophysiology of many diseases which may go unnoticed during a person’s life. These lesions may be contributory to the cause of death and must be interpreted in correlation with clinical history for a conclusive medicolegal opinion. Key words: Histopathology, Liver, Medicolegal autopsy