Abstract
The field and applications of postmortem imaging are exponentially growing. Its potential to identify the cause of death in trauma and ballistic cases is now properly documented, as well as its use in drug mule identification. In pediatric and perinatal practice, large significant series are less available, except for MRI and central nervous system analysis where scientific evidence is now robust. In this review, after a short historical review and analysis of current problems and challenges, we will try to depict the way we see the future of this subspecialty of postmortem cross-sectional imaging, including all specific situations: terminations of pregnancy, intrauterine death, sudden unexpected infant death and identification issues.
Highlights
It is widely acknowledged that the provision of perinatal and paediatric pathology services is a sign of an enlightened society
There has been a general fall in autopsy rates throughout the world over the last decade [1]
The age of practitioners is such that 40% of them will retire within 10 years, 80% of them have no successor, and that 70% of centres have no young practitioner in training. This situation worldwide has led to the introduction of "less invasive" autopsy protocols combining external examination, modern cross-sectional imaging techniques, organ sampling and / or targeted biopsies
Summary
It is widely acknowledged that the provision of perinatal and paediatric pathology services is a sign of an enlightened society. Conventional plain film skeletal radiography is the most widely used post-mortem radiology technique, and together with an external and internal clinical examination, photography, placental assessment and supporting laboratory investigations, forms an essential diagnostic adjunct to formal paediatric autopsy examinations. Considerations common to the whole field of post-mortem imaging Forensic medicine adopted the use of radiology shortly after the discovery of X-rays with the investigation of a ballistics case in Canada in 1895 [3].
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