[Study of the morbidity structure by analyses of data from 6668 autopsied cases]

In a retrospective study, autopsy data of 6668 cases were collected from the first affiliated hospital, West China University of Medical Sciences, to assess the changes in autopsy rate between 1952 and 1987. The autopsy rate of dead patients was 14.3%, with two peaks obtained in the periods of 1954-1956 and 1964-1966 respectively. Anyhow, the autopsy rate declined sharply after 1967. The agreement of clinical diagnosis and pathological findings in this group was 68.9%. The most common diseases in this series were infectious and parasitic diseases' diseases of respiratory system, diseases of digestive system, neoplasms and diseases of cardio-vascular system. Accompanying the increase of age of the autopsied patients, neoplasia and cardio-vascular diseases were more frequently seen in this series.