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Query: UMLS:C0020672 (hypothermia)
 17,327 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Besides typical macroscopical findings in cases of death due to hypothermia (frost erythema, haemorrhagic gastric erosions) there are some histological changes (e.g. lipid accumulation in epithelial cells of renal proximal tubules) which can help to determine the cause of death. In the literature some changes of the pituitary gland are described in case of hypothermia, e.g. haemorrhage and hyperaemia of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland (adenohypophysis) or a vacuolization of cells in the anterior pituitary. The validity of these morphological changes as hypothermia marker should be proved in our autopsy material. 17 pituitary glands in cases with verified fatal accidental hypothermia were examined histologically and immunohistochemically (HE, Ferric, Azan, LCA, C5b9) and compared with 61 pituitary glands of a matching control group (cases of natural and non-natural death without trauma and long agonal period). Autolytical changes complicated an evaluation but in 5.9% of the study group and 1.6% of the control group a vacuolization of cells could be verified. In none of the examined cases a distinct haemorrhage into the glandular tissue was detected. Histopathological characteristics which are described in the literature as pathogenetic for hypothermia could not be found. Differences concerning histological characteristics of the pituitary glands between cases of fatal hypothermia and the control group were not observed.
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PMID:Histological examination of the pituitary glands in cases of fatal hypothermia. 2086 79

In cases of death caused by hypothermia, histological analysis can be used to determine the cause of death. Certain histological alterations of the pituitary glands in hypothermia have been reported in the literature, including haemorrhage, hyperaemia and cellular vacuolization of cells in the anterior lobe. In the present study, the validity of these morphological alterations as markers for fatal accidental hypothermia was investigated in autopsy material. A total of 34 pituitary glands in cases of verified fatal accidental hypothermia were examined histologically (haematoxylin and eosin, ferric, azan) and immunohistochemically (LCA, ACTH, C5b-9). The findings were compared with 61 cases in a control group. Hyperaemia was found in 50.0% of the study group cases and 59.0% of the control group cases. Cellular vacuolization was observed in one case (2.9%) in the study group and one case (1.6%) in the control group. Acute or recent haemorrhage in the glandular tissue was never detected. In our study, the histopathological characteristics described in the literature as pathognomonic for hypothermia could not be confirmed. Furthermore, histological differences in the pituitary glands between fatal hypothermia cases and control group cases were not observed.
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PMID:Microscopic examination of pituitary glands in cases of fatal accidental hypothermia. 3048 31