(a) Each autopsy for which a claim for payment is submitted pursuant to this subpart must be performed in a manner consistent with standard autopsy procedures such as those, for example, set forth in Autopsy Performance & Reporting, third edition (Kim A. Collins, ed., College of American Pathologists, 2017). Copies of this document may be borrowed from NIOSH.

(b) Each autopsy must include:

(1) Gross and microscopic examination of the lungs, pulmonary pleura, and tracheobronchial lymph nodes;

(2) Weights of the heart and each lung (these and all other measurements required under this subparagraph must be in the metric system);

(3) Circumference of each cardiac valve when opened;

(4) Thickness of right and left ventricles; these measurements must be made perpendicular to the ventricular surface and must not include trabeculations or pericardial fat. The right ventricle must be measured at a point midway between the tricuspid valve and the apex, and the left ventricle must be measured directly above the insertion of the anterior papillary muscle;

(5) Size, number, consistency, location, description and other relevant details of all lesions of the lungs;

(6) Level of the diaphragm;

(7) From each type of suspected pneumoconiotic lesion, representative microscopic slides stained with hematoxylin eosin or other appropriate stain, and one formalin fixed, paraffin-impregnated block of tissue; a minimum of three stained slides and three blocks of tissue corresponding to the three stained slides must be submitted. When no such lesion is recognized, similar material must be submitted from three separate areas of the lungs selected at random; a minimum of three stained slides and three formalin fixed, paraffin-impregnated blocks of tissue corresponding to the three stained slides must be submitted.

(c) Needle biopsy techniques will not be accepted.

]86 FR 24339, May 6, 2021]