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Review
. 2020 Nov;216(11):153195.
doi: 10.1016/j.prp.2020.153195. Epub 2020 Aug 28.

COVID-19: Brief check through the pathologist's eye (autopsy archive)

Gelsomina Mansueto  1
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19: Brief check through the pathologist's eye (autopsy archive)

Gelsomina Mansueto. Pathol Res Pract. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many deaths occurred especially among the old patients with cardiovascular comorbidities. Many questions have been asked and few simple answers have been given. The autopsy data are few and the aspects often observed are pulmonary diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), myocarditis, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC); these aspects are not only in COVID-19 but also in other viral infections and in sepsis. It should be considered that coronavirus with its pathological organ changes have already been described in the years preceding the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID 2019; Cardiovascular system; CoV-19; Pulmonary pathology; SARS.Cov-19.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Different phases of DAD. a. Cytomegalovirus. Proteinaceous edema, exfoliation, fibrin deposition, flogosis (H&E stain x20). b. Coronavirus. Proteinaceous edema with hyaline membranes, exfoliative aspects, vessels saffered by fibrinoid material as by intravasal coagulation (H&E stain x20). c. Influenza virus. Proteinaceous edema with hyaline membranes, exfoliative aspects, vessels saffered by fibrinoid material such as intravasal coagulation and emphysematous aspects (E&E x20). d.e. High resolution of intravascular coagulation in coronavirus infection(d. kidney, e. pulmonary vassells) (H&E x40).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Myocarditis. Mostly interstitial lymphomonocytic inflammatory infiltrate. a:. Enterovirus (H&E stain x10). b. Influenza virus (E&E stain x20). c. Coronavirus (H&E stain x20).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
IMA. Areas of coagulative necrosis of the myocardium as initial hypoxic damage. a. HIV (H&E stain x20). b. Coronavirus (H&E stain x20).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Fibroblast function in COVID-19.
    Sahin M, Akkus E. Sahin M, et al. Pathol Res Pract. 2021 Mar;219:153353. doi: 10.1016/j.prp.2021.153353. Epub 2021 Feb 1. Pathol Res Pract. 2021. PMID: 33561763 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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