Figure 4.

Hypostasis: (a) axial post-mortem CT image through the mediastinum of an elderly adult male demonstrates intravascular hypostasis with intraluminal fluid–fluid levels evident in the descending aorta and pulmonary trunk and arteries where erythrocytes have separated from serum and settled in the dependent parts of the vessels (arrows). (Note the bilateral pleural effusions present at the time of death.) (b) Axial post-mortem CT image through the thorax of the same subject with appropriate gradation of subtle increased attenuation in the dependent subcutaneous tissues (posterior in this case) (arrows) compared with the non-dependent subcutaneous tissues (anterior) and the associated subtle dependent dermal thickening (arrows).