title: Techniques and criteria in pathologic and forensic-medical diagnostics in sudden unexpected infant and perinatal death.
abstract: For each case of sudden infant and perinatal death, a full review of clinical and epidemiologic data and a complete necropsy study were performed according to the necropsy protocol devised by the Institute of Pathology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy (available at: http://users.unimi.it/~pathol/sids_e.html). Histopathologic examination of unexpected late fetal and neonatal death and SIDS cases allowed us to identify frequent alterations, mainly congenital, of the autonomic nervous system, modulating respiratory, cardiovascular, arousal, and upper digestive activities. The data and arguments presented herein provide a brief survey tending to open, rather than conclude, a far-reaching subject and to motivate medicolegal specialists and pathologists to perform more in-depth study.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Lino Rossi Research Center for the Study and Prevention of Unexpected Perinatal Death and SIDS, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matturri
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ottaviani
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lavezzi
mesh_terms: D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology; D018376:Cardiovascular Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009420:Nervous System / Q000473:pathology; D009421:Nervous System Malformations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000473:pathology*