An unusual cause of fatal pulmonary embolism.

We report on a case of a fatal pulmonary embolism--an unexpected finding at autopsy of a 71-year-old man who had suffered from severe erosive gouty arthritis. Using morphological findings, medical history and histopathological results, we show the potentially devastating complications of this fairly common medical condition, occurring as a result of massive bone marrow erosion and detachment and finally leading to embolization of the lungs.