Massive, fatal aspiration of blood: not necessarily a result of trauma.

We report the rare pathologic finding of massive, fatal aspiration of blood in an 82-year-old woman, originating from a ruptured atherosclerotic aneurysm of the ascending part of the thoracic aorta eroding into the left lung. This case demonstrates that lethal bilateral hemoaspiration does not necessarily have to be the result of trauma and that in such cases, the bleeding site does not have to be situated above the trachea.