Background: Liver is the site of many diseases, many of which become symptomatic while some are diagnosed only on autopsy. The underlying causes of chronic liver diseases vary in different geographic areas and are based on various factors such as socioeconomic status, life style, diet, local or regional infections, and other endemic diseases.

Methods: Our study was prospective study conducted in the department of pathology, GMC Jammu for a period of one year from jan 2018 to jan 2019. A total of 120 autopsy specimens of liver irrespective of age, sex, and cause of death were included in this study. After fixation in 10 % formalin, sections from representative areas were submitted for processing. Sections were stained with H&E stain. Different findings of cases were analysed and expressed as frequency and percentage.

Results: A total of 120 specimens were studied. Age ranges from 9 years to 80 years, with M:F ratio of 3:2. On histopathology the most common finding was steatosis 32.5%, followed by normal liver findings in 21.7% cases, chronic hepatitis in 18.3% cases, cirrhosis in 7.5% cases, 5.8% cases showed autolytic changes, necrosis seen in 3.3% cases and tuberculosis was seen in 0.8 % cases.

Conclusion: From our study we conclude that silent liver diseases are not uncommon, autopsy helps to identify the silent liver diseases like steatosis , chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and tuberculosis.

Keywords: Autopsy, Steatosis, Histopatholgy, Liver diseases

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Dr Vinod Kumar

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