In the case of a newly born infant, either stillborn or found dead, the state of the lungs is of particular forensic interest. The aim of this study was to determine whether lungs are adequate for pathological comment about stillbirth or live birth of an infant. In order to evaluate the relevance of 171 autopsy reports of infants, macroscopic and microscopic findings, and body measures at autopsy, microscopic investigations on the degree of alveolar expansion performed on the lung specimens were obtained. Results revealed on the one hand, that the lung filled the thoracic cavity and covered the anterior surface of the heart in 45 (26.37%) cases; on the other hand did not fill the thoracic cavity and presented at the back side of the thoracic cavity in 56 (32.7%) of the cases. In a total of 40 histological sections, 19 (47.5%) uniform, 10 (25%) semi-collapsed, 11 (27.5%) collapsed alveoli sections in shape, 11 (28.2%) amnion aspiration, 9 (23.1%) mild amnion aspiration, 9 (23.1%) moderate amnion aspiration, 10 (25.6%) evident amnion aspiration and 22 (57.9%) pulmonary emphysema were determined. The paper thus revealed macroscopical findings of infant lungs with combination of histological findings were more formative than their histological findings alone in the assesment of still or live birth of an infant.

Key words: Infant, stillbirth, lung, live birth, autopsy.