spectrum of histopathological lesions in lung autopsy

Background: Hundreds of millions of people around the world suffer from preventable pulmonary diseases. The clinical and radiological findings in respiratory diseases are nonspecific and prompt pathology investigation and diagnosis is essential. Autopsy is an important complementary tool for identifying and understanding respiratory diseases and to find out the condition of internal organs. Aims & Objectives: The objective of this study was to find out occurrence & frequencies of various lung pathologies by histomorphological examination of lung tissue received in autopsy specimens. Material & Methods: The study done on 335 lung specimens from autopsy cases received in this department. Gross findings and microscopic features were recorded. The tissue specimens were fixed and processed. Paraffin sectioning was done followed by Haematoxylin and Eosin staining. The sections were then examined. Results: During period from January 2013 to February 2015, total of 335 lungs from autopsy specimens were studied. Lung diseases are more common in males as compared to females. Most common lung pathological findings are of pneumonia (14.62%), emphysema (7.76%), tuberculosis (6.26%) & malignant lesions (2.08%) among the cases studied. Conclusion: Advances in diagnostic technology have not reduced the value of autopsy and a goal directed autopsy remains a vital component for the study and evaluation of the disease process. There are large numbers of cases of preventable respiratory diseases. This indicates that the autopsy has remained an important complementary tool for identifying and understanding respiratory diseases despite of recent advances in diagnostic technology.