A prospective study of 726 cases of coroner's autopsies carried out over a period of two years (1st January, 1996 - 31st December, 1997) was reviewed. The causes and circumstances of death are defined and classified into natural and unnatural deaths. Fifty cases (6.3%) were children while the remaining 676 cases (93.1%) were adults in a male to female ratio of 2.6 to 1. The most common indications for coroner's autopsies were sudden unnatural deaths (SUDs) accounting for 485 cases (66.8%) and also sudden unexpected natural deaths (SUNDs) (241 cases) accounting for 33.2%. In the first category, road traffic accidents accounted for 86.7% of cases with deaths involving motor vehicle drivers and their passengers (41.8%); pedestrians (37.1%); and motorcyclists and their passengers (18.6%). The commonest causes of death in all road traffic accidents were craniocerebral injuries and haemorrhagic shock. In the second category the most common causes of sudden unexpected natural death were cardiovascular diseases resulting from complications of hypertension (54.7%) occurring in apparently healthy individuals. Other causes of death were pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, typhoid fever and neoplastic diseases. This study showed that in Nigeria, with an increasing acquisition of dietary and life style habits of the developed western world, there is becoming a concomitant risk of deaths from road traffic accidents and sudden unexpected natural deaths from hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

Objective: To evaluate patterns of morbidity and mortality among bike riders and pillion seat passengers involved in road traffic accidents in Benin-City Nigeria between August 2003-July 2004. Methods: A total of Fifty-one bike riders and pillion seat passengers, who participated in this study were part of a larger study, involved in a road traffic accident and were brought to the accident and emergency unit of either the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) or the State Specialist Hospital between August 2002-July2003.The injured ones were examined and dead patients had an autopsy done on them Results: A total of 51 cases of bikes riders/pillion seat passenger accidents were recorded representing 18% of total accidents. 35 motorbike riders/pillion seat passengers were struck down by cars (68.6%). Seven bike riders/pillion seat passengers (13.5%) were struck by articulated vehicles. 7 bike riders/pillion seat passengers representing 13.5% of cases were stuck by buses, 2 (3.9%) pillion seat passengers fell of bikes from epilepsies and sustained secondary injuries. Males were more in number with a ratio of 2.5; 1. One hundred percent (100%) or all motorcyclist and their passengers did not use helmets. Conclusion: Cars struck down most bike riders and their pillion seat passengers. Males were more than females in number. The commonest autopsy findings as cause of death was intra-cranial hemorrhage preventable by the use of crash helmets. Key words: Road traffic accident, motorcycle riders, morbidity, mortality Page | 83Conclusions: la plupart des motocyclistes et passagers étaient renversés par les voitures. Parmi les victimes, les hommes étaient plus nombreux que les femmes. Partout dans les résultats de l'autopsie, la cause la plus courante des morts était l'hémorragie intracrânienne.

A b s t r A c tBackground: Endometrial diseases ranked among the most common gynecological disorders that affect women globally. These diseases cut across all age groups and contribute significantly to increased maternal morbidity and mortality. Due to the wide range of histopathological patterns, the need for urgent diagnosis and treatment cannot be overemphasized. Aim: The aim of this study is to highlight the frequency and histological types and patterns of the endometrial lesions in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) in private practice in Benin-City, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: H and E stained-slides of endometrial biopsies diagnosed at the Ashamas foundation histopathology diagnostic center in Benin-City for 10 years were archived and studied. Request forms were analyzed for clinical bio-data, diagnosis and type of biopsies carried out. Data were entered using Micro-soft Excel package and transferred to statistics software (statistical package for the social sciences Version 17, SPSS Incorperated, Chicago Illinois, USA) for descriptive analysis. Results: In all, 231endometrial lesions were received. Of these, 207/231 (89.6%) cases were seen in reproductive and perimenopausal age groups while 24/231 (10.4%) was encountered in postmenopausal age group. The age range and peak age incidence was 17-86 years and fourth decade respectively. The mean age was 38.8 (6.8) years In all 231 endometrial lesions, product of conception was the most common finding observed (n=64/231; 27.7%) in reproductive and pre-menopausal women. While the most frequently encountered lesion in postmenopausal women was complex endometrial hyperplasia (n=6/231; 2.6%). Conclusion: Histopathological patterns of endometrial biopsy and curettage of women presenting with AUB is variable. Product of conception was the most commonly encountered among reproductive women. Nevertheless, endometrial hyperplasia was most frequent in perimenopausal age group.

To determine the commonest histological types of breast cancer in Nigerian women in Edo State and the mean age at diagnosis, we reviewed the histological slides of breast cancer received in the pathology department of University of Benin Teaching Hospital over a twelve-year period (January 1993-December 2004). The clinical data was obtained from the original request form and case notes where necessary. The mean age of the patients was 45.7 (SD= 13.4, SEM = 0.7). Invasive ductal carcinoma (not otherwise specified) constituted the majority of breast cancer accounting for 75.5% while papillary carcinoma was the least common (2.7%). Ductal carcinoma in situ accounted for 6.6%. Breast cancer occur more on the left (53.3%) than the right (45.7%). Bilateral breast cancer was found in only 0.8% of the cases. The frequency of invasive breast cancer is still very high among Nigerian women. Late presentation possibly due to ignorance, alternative medicine and fear of surgery may account for this high prevalence.

This study was designed to evaluate the pattern of malignant diseases seen at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital over a 20-year period (January 1980-December 1999). A total of 2258 histologically confirmed malignant diseases were seen with the predominant tumours comprising carcinoma of the cervix (20.59%), breast (18.25%), prostate (7.13%), endometrium (6.47%) and colon and rectum (5.71%). We believe that the figure reported here represents an underestimate of the frequency of malignant tumours seen in the hospital and recommend the establishment of hospital- and population-based cancer registries to ensure proper documentation of malignant diseases within the region.