The forensic spleen: Morphological, radiological, and toxicological investigations

Abstract

The spleen is infrequently investigated in forensic pathology routine. Thorough examinations are performed in very specific situations such as splenic trauma (including iatrogenic trauma from cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts), anaphylaxis-related deaths, drowning and sepsis. The purpose of this review article is to provide a general overview of available literature focusing on a few selected splenic diseases as well as available forensic investigation techniques performed on the spleen in order to summarize the most frequent situations of forensic interest in which this routinely unexplored organ may merit more extensive examination.

Keywords: Anaphylaxis; Autopsy; Drowning; Forensic pathology; Spleen.