ABSTRACT
Injuries to chest and abdominal organs and vasculature may arise from a variety of types of blunt and sharp force trauma, and other more specific methods such as firearms and crushing or compression. The features of such injuries are described whether the trauma is associated with external or internal signs of injury at autopsy or not. Deaths may result from hemorrhage, air embolism, asphyxia or sepsis. Certain underlying medical conditions such as infectious mononucleosis may predispose to spontaneous rupture of organs such as the spleen or increase the risk of rupture with minor trauma and should therefore be considered when undertaking autopsy.
