Abstract: Autopsy of patients who died of infectious diseases is of significance for public health management. Few forensic autopsies have been performed since the outbreak of the corona virus disease 2019 （COVID-19） due to some limitations, thus forensic pathological examination failed to contribute to  the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Virtual autopsy has unique advantages in the forensic examination of patients who died of infectious diseases. Accumulated virtual autopsy image data are of great value to the study of the pathological mechanism and diagnosis of COVID-19. This article reviews the relationship between imaging changes and pathology of the COVID-19 as well as the application of virtual autopsy in autopsy of patients who died of infectious diseases, in order to provide reference for performing virtual autopsy in the outbreak of COVID-19.

Key words: forensic pathology, radiology, virtual autopsy, infectious diseases, corona virus disease 2019