title: An autopsy report on a ruptured rudimentary horn (uterine anomaly) with ectopic pregnancy.
abstract: The rudimentary horn is a rare developmental anomaly of the Müllerian duct. Ectopic pregnancy in the rudimentary horn is estimated to occur in one out of 76,000-150,000 pregnancies. A 30-year-old primigravida suddenly collapsed after 3 days of continuous abdominal pain. Emergency laparotomy revealed a massive intraperitoneal hemorrhage and fetal demise. The growth of the fetus after 19 weeks of gestation is believed to have caused the rudimentary horn rupture, thereby rapidly leading to hemorrhagic shock in the mother and ischemic death in the fetus. This is the first autopsy report on maternal death due to the rudimentary horn or other Müllerian duct anomalies, which emphasizes the need for forensic pathologists to consider this condition as a possible cause of unexpected death in fertile women. In addition, it is very important for clinicians to detect Müllerian duct anomalies by sonography during routine obstetric examinations, and promptly diagnose anomaly related ectopic pregnancies in women displaying symptoms of an acute abdomen, intraperitoneal hemorrhage, or shock in the emergency practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
authors.forename: Izumi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: Ryohei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Yoshimasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamei
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takazawa
authors.forename: Ken-ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D009095:Mullerian Ducts / Q000002:abnormalities*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011271:Pregnancy, Ectopic / Q000473:pathology*; D012771:Shock, Hemorrhagic / Q000209:etiology; D014597:Uterine Rupture / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*