ABSTRACT
Irrespective of the suspected cause of death, dissection of the internal organs should be undertaken in a systematic and thorough manner. There are perhaps as many methods of dissecting the internal organs as there are pathologists performing autopsies. The retroperitoneum is a common and convenient starting point for the systematic dissection of the organ pluck. The cut surfaces of the adrenal glands should be examined for the presence of haemorrhage, cortical atrophy, cortical hyperplasia, cortical tumours and medullary tumours. Neuro-endocrine tumours of the pancreas are typically small and wide histological sampling is generally required for their detection. The pancreatic duct can be identified and opened along the length of the pancreas, and samples can be taken for histology. In some cases, such as bile duct problems or tumours of the head of the pancreas, it may be more helpful to the clinicians to keep the relevant organs in continuity while partially dissecting tissues to reveal the pathological and anatomical details.
