Inside the lungs of COVID-19 disease

Abstract In the setting of COVID-19 pandemic, only few data regarding lung pathology induced by SARS-CoV-2 is available, especially without medical intervention interacting with the natural evolution of the disease. We present here the first case of forensic autopsy of a COVID-19 fatality occurring in confinement and in a young female. Diagnosis was made at necropsy and lung histology revealed diffuse alveolar damage, edema and interstitial pneumonia with a geographically heterogeneous pattern, affecting mostly central part of the lungs. This death related to COVID-19 pathology highlights the heterogeneity and severity of central lung lesions when the disease naturally evolves.