Organ weights determined during autopsies of infants aged 0-1 year: a comparative study of turkish and syrian infants.

Organ weight evaluation at autopsy is a key indicator of physiological development and pathology, yet reference values for infants in Türkiye are lacking. This retrospective study analyzed 324 autopsied infants aged 0-1 year (55.6% female, 44.4% male) examined at the Şanlıurfa Forensic Medicine Branch Directorate between 2017 and 2020. External measurements and internal organ weights were recorded using calibrated instruments. Only cases without pathological findings or congenital anomalies were included. Statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U and Spearman correlation tests. Male infants had significantly higher body weight, head circumference, sitting height, and thymus, spleen, and kidney weights (p < 0.05). Thymus weight was higher in Syrian infants, whereas spleen weight was greater in Turkish infants. Body weight showed the strongest correlations with liver (ρ = 0.847) and brain (ρ = 0.833) weights. These findings provide the first regional reference data for infant organ weights in Türkiye and reveal notable sex- and ethnicity-related differences. The results may serve as a foundation for future studies aimed at developing national postmortem organ weight standards and improving diagnostic precision in forensic and pediatric pathology.