Pulmonary embolism (PE) is one of the most common fatal complications in a wide variety of pathologies along the most common death causes of the population — diseases of the circulatory system and oncology. The development of PE in the postoperative and postpartum periods can also be fatal. The diagnosis of PE is very difficult and in 50—80% of cases it is not diagnosed at all. During autopsies it is important not only to diagnose PE but also to establish the source of its origin. An example of PE in a 34-year-old pregnant woman is given; the PE source was thrombosis of the right deep femoral vein facilitated by varicose veins of the lower extremities and severe preeclampsia. The presence of severe preeclampsia in a pregnant woman caused the development of venous sinus thrombosis accompanied by bilateral exophthalmos, necrosis of a pituitary gland part and progressive cerebral edema.