Pulmonary Congestion

• Decreased outflow of venous blood
• Most commonly caused by left-sided or bilateral cardiac failure
  • Stagnant blood in pulmonary vessels -> red blood cells move into alveoli and are phagocytosed -> haemosiderin in macrophages (heart failure cells)
• One-sided in post-mortem hypostatic congestion
• Acute pulmonary congestion is seen after barbiturate euthanasia
• Leads to pulmonary oedema (below)