Dissecting Hematoma of the Thoracic Aorta: Pathology Study of Seven Autopsy Cases

Dissecting aortic hematoma (DAH) is defined as the dissection of the aortic wall by the blood, with formation of a new light. It is the deadliest disease of the aorta and occurs more frequently diagnosed at a rate three times greater than the ruptured aneurysm of the abdominal aorta. Our goal is to present seven cases of DAH observed in autopsies, describe the autopsy findings and comment on the literature. All cases studied belong to the Department of Pathology, Institute of Forensic Medicine of Cordoba, Argentina. The tissues were fixed in 10% formalin, embedded in paraffin and stained with hematoxylin-eosin, Masson trichrome and PAS (Peryodic Acid Schiff). Of all the cases studied, four were women (57.1%) and three men (42.8%). All had a history of hypertension. Evolution of aortic dissection may include: failure of the adventitia with massive hemorrhage and death, again communication with the aortic lumen, spread the coronary ostium, organ ischemia and aneurysm formation.