Peritoneal Membrane Roll - Searching for Peritonitis in a Child Abuse Case

An autopsy was performed on a young child who died of blunt abdominal trauma. The parietal peritoneum exhibited focal dusky areas, which were sampled via 1) longitudinal sections of the abdominal wall and 2) preparing a cross-sectional sample of the peritoneal membrane roll. Microscopically, the membrane roll sections showed prominent neutrophilic inflammation; the longitudinal sections were comparatively more banal. We suggest that a peritoneal membrane roll might be of greater utility in the documentation of inflammation than typical longitudinal sections.