Abstract

Sudden death of gyneco-obstetric origin is rare in both American countries and the old continent, however, this type of death is conceptually relevant to Costa Rican legislation as it is the criterion of medical-legal autopsies, where not only the cause is answered of death, but also other objectives typical of the autopsy, such as the way of death, where one other than the natural one must be ruled out. Broken ectopic pregnancies are significant in current records according to the reason of maternal mortality, with repercussions on the reproductive health of patients who suffer from it, becoming a relevant pathology for clinical medical and forensic records.

Key words: Sudden death; ectopic pregnancy; broken ectopic pregnancy; hemoperitoneum; legal medicine