Is the aeration of the lungs a reliable sign of live birth?
One of the most important medico-legal questions is whether an infant was born alive or not. The aerated lungs do not mean in every case that the newborn had taken a breath. Under various conditions the aerated lungs may turn into unaerated ones and, on the other hand, a stillborn's lungs may seem aerated. The critical evaluation of the histological and macroscopical examinations may aid in solving the question.
D001344:Autopsy; D004547:Elastic Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000473:pathology; D012119:Respiration