title: The use of pulmonary interstitial emphysema as an indicator of live birth.
abstract: Making the determination of live birth versus stillbirth in a discarded newborn infant based on gross and microscopic autopsy findings can be a challenging task for the forensic pathologist. The traditional criteria for live birth determination are frequently challenged in court, and indisputable evidence of live birth remains elusive. The histologic finding of pulmonary interstitial emphysema has not been considered as a useful determinant of live birth. The authors report two cases of discarded newborn infants in which the finding of pulmonary interstitial emphysema was used as an indicator of live birth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Albany Medical Center, Mail Code 81, 47 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208, USA. lavezzw@mail.amc.edu
authors.forename: Wendy A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Lavezzi
authors.forename: Kristina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Keough
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Der'Ohannesian
authors.forename: Tiffany L A
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Person
authors.forename: Barbara C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011656:Pulmonary Emphysema / Q000473:pathology*