Description
The specimen consists of an abdominal aortic aneurysm occupied by organised clot. With this are
the related lumbar vertebrae showing compression erosion.
History
This man, aged 75, climbed a step-ladder in his home and fell to the floor, dead. Death
was due to rupture of an atheromatous aneurysm in the arch of the aorta with bleeding into the
mediastinum and the right pleural cavity.