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Environmental Injuries

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Veterinary Forensic Pathology, Volume 2

Abstract

Identifying hyperthermia or hypothermia as the cause of death in an animal can be a diagnostic challenge to a veterinary pathologist. A complete history and prompt presentation of the animal for necropsy are very important. Deaths due to either hypothermia or hyperthermia have lesions which are sometimes nonspecific or mimic other disease conditions such as sepsis or disseminated intravascular coagulation or even postmortem change. Determining the cause of death in an animal which is presented frozen or was found dead in the sun in the backyard warrants close examination to document lesions including body condition and intercurrent diseases. The pathologist should request the complete history including where and when the body was found, diet, exercise routine, treatment, and available bloodwork. This in combination with gross and microscopic lesions can help to support a diagnosis of death due to heatstroke, sepsis, or other disease conditions. Morphological findings due to hypothermia are variable. Hyperthermia due to heatstroke usually has more definitive lesions of hemorrhage and necrosis in the intestines, heart, and lungs, but postmortem autolysis can hinder microscopic examination if the body is not examined promptly after death due to the elevated body temperature and intestinal permeability/sepsis which can develop quickly prior to death.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anatomic Pathology—ADVL, University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia

    Doris M. Miller D.V.M., Ph.D., D.A.C.V.P.

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  1. Doris M. Miller D.V.M., Ph.D., D.A.C.V.P.
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Correspondence to Doris M. Miller D.V.M., Ph.D., D.A.C.V.P. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jason W. Brooks

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Miller, D.M. (2018). Environmental Injuries. In: Brooks, J. (eds) Veterinary Forensic Pathology, Volume 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67175-8_4

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