[A case of death within 3 hours due to systemic embolism of fat from tibial fractures].

We experienced a case dying of systemic fat embolism shortly after a traffic accident. The man of 83 years old suffered an accident by a car while wheeling his bicycle on a lane through rice fields. His both legs were run over by a wheel of the car. He was fully conscious for some while after the accident. However, while he was taken to a hospital by an ambulance, he suddenly lost consciousness and died 2 hours and 45 minutes after the accident. The autopsy examination revealed the severely fractured tibiae in both legs. The left clavicle and sternum as well as the ribs of both sides were also fractured. Organs in the thoracic and abdominal cavities were slightly congested. The histopathological examinations revealed fat droplets in the small vessels in interlobular connective tissues and many alveolar capillaries of the lungs, many glomeruli of the kidneys and a few capillaries in parietal region of the cerebrum.