Step 1: Diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism at autopsy depends on demonstrating fetal elements within the maternal pulmonary vasculature using special stains on sections of lung and other organs.
Step 2: The Lendrum stain (Phloxine-Tartrazine) is used to detect fetal squames (squamous cells), which appear in the maternal lung capillaries in amniotic fluid embolism.
Step 3: Complementary stains include Alcian Blue to detect mucin and Sudan Black or Oil Red O to detect lipid (vernix caseosa), together confirming the presence of amniotic fluid debris.
Step 4: Air embolism and fat embolism are diagnosed by other techniques (for example, special dissection and water-trap tests for air, and Oil Red O for systemic fat), so amniotic fluid embolism is the correct answer.