To study the sources of emboli in patients with pulmonary embolism diagnosed by autopsy, and therefore to provide help in the diagnosis and treatment of thromboembolism.

We retrospectively analyzed the pathology and clinical data of 43 patients with pulmonary embolism diagnosed by autopsy from 1962 to 2012 in Beijing Hospital.

In patients with pulmonary embolism diagnosed by autopsy, 32.6% of the emboli came from deep veins of the lower extremities, 9.3% from the renal vein, 9.3% from the prostate sinus, 7.0% from the venous plexus around the prostate, 7.0% from the hepatic vein and 7.0% from the submucosal vein of the bladder. Other sources included the right atrium 4.7%, portal vein 4.7%, pancreatic peripheral vein 4.7%, prostate, heart, esophageal vein 4.7%, right common iliac vein 2.3%, right upper limb brachial vein 2.3%. No source of emboli was found in 4.7% patients with pulmonary embolism. Non-lower extremity deep vein emboli accounted for 60.5%. Only 9.3% of the cases were diagnosed with pulmonary embolism with deep vein thrombosis before death.

There was a wide range of sources of emboli in patients with pathologically proven pulmonary embolism. Although the deep veins of lower extremities are the most common, more than 60% of the emboli came from the renal vein, prostate vein, hepatic vein and other abdominal or pelvic veins, the heart, and the upper extremity deep veins. In addition to the lower extremity deep veins, other sources of emboli should be actively examined when the patient was diagnosed with acute pulmonary embolism.

Pulmonary embolism; Deep vein thrombosis; Autopsy; Pathology, clinical