Abstract: Objective To explore the cause of death, clinical manifestations and forensic pathological features of death cases caused by aortic dissection. Methods Sixty-three cases of aortic dissection were selected from forensic medical center, Sun Yat-sen University from 2001 to 2011 and retrospectively analyzed. Results The patients were mostly young and middle-aged male, aged from 30 to 49 years old. The DeBakey type Ⅱ was the most common pathological type and the main cause of death was pericardial tamponade. The most common symptom was abdominal pain. However, the location of aorta dissection did not always correlate with the location of pain. Some cases showed no obvious clinical symptoms. The rupture was usually located in ascending aorta with atherosclerosis and pathological changes of hypertension. Conclusion It is significant for diagnosis and evaluation the cause of death of aortic dissection by knowing the clinical symptoms and forensic pathological features.

Key words: forensic pathology, aneurysm, dissecting, aortic rupture