Genitourinary and Breast Tissues, Including Pregnancy

The genitourinary system is an anatomically diverse and complex tissue grouping. This chapter covers both sexes, with common elements being the kidneys, ureters and bladder. The female components of vulva, vagina, cervix, uterus, tubes, and ovaries have a complicated and variable architecture depending on the age of the individual, hormone levels and indeed pregnancy. The male counterparts comprise prostate, penis, testes and other scrotal contents. These vary with age to an extent but are not subject to the same widespread hormone fluctuations. The breast tissues are covered briefly. This section deals with the standard approach to dissecting these tissues and considers the common pathologies found at autopsy. The pathologies vary from background diseases considered non-contributory to death, to those that are often directly implicated in the cause of death. Some coverage of maternal deaths is also provided.