Autopsy webinar series – Sepsis

Sepsis is an inflammatory response, generally triggered by microbes, in which a cascade of molecules has a wide range of effects. The metabolic responses to these compounds have an important physiological role, but can lead to overwhelming clinical changes and death, especially in the already vulnerable or frail individual. The underlying source of sepsis may be obvious, but in up to 40% of cases, it is not. In such cases, detailed understanding of the clinical history is very important. There are recognised microscopic changes, but these vary in degree, and can be very difficult to identify in the decomposing body, even in the early stages.