Postmortem changes - cardiovascular

Postmortem
changes - cardiovascular • Freshwater drowning - postmortem - Ganzer Fall bei Radiopaedia
Heimer J, Freshwater drowning - postmortem. Case study, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 12 Feb 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-54041 • CC by-nc-sa 3.0 (modified)
Radiopaedia • CC-by-nc-sa 3.0 • de

Cardiovascular postmortem changes refer to the normal appearances of the cardiovascular system on postmortem imaging.

Radiographic features

CT
  • hyperdensity of the aortic wall
  • hypostasis of blood intravascularly
  • dilatation of the right atrium of the heart
  • dilatation of the superior vena cava and inferior vena cava (except in cases of exsanguination)