By M. Kotch

Source: Flickr.com

au.top.sy:
an examination of a body after death to determine the cause of death or the character and extent of changes produced by disease —called also necropsy.

Popular culture creates the impression that autopsies are conducted only during circumstances of suspicious death. And while a homicide or drug overdose does warrant further investigation, autopsies are also performed during more commonplace situations. All “CSI: Criminal Scene Investigation” references aside, just what is an autopsy, and when is it necessary?

There are two types of autopsies: medical and forensic. Medical autopsies are typically carried out by doctors while forensic autopsies are performed by pathologists/medical examiners. The latter type of examination is used in cases pertaining to legal matters and to determine if a death was natural, by accident, a homicide or suicide.

For most of human history, autopsies were used to determine cause of death, investigate diseases, aid in understanding ailments and to educate medical students, body workers or healers. These days, autopsies are performed more often for a variety of different reasons.

Why is an autopsy performed?
According to the American Society for Criminal Pathology, an autopsy is conducted to determine:
•    Quality assurance of medical diagnostics and service
•    Public education
•    The development of accurate mortality statistics
•    The early identification of environmental, infectious and occupational hazards to health
•    Information documentation for future legal, financial, and medical evaluation
•    Evaluation of new forms of therapy and new diagnostic modalities
•    Continuing education of physicians

How long does an autopsy take to complete?
The physical part of an autopsy could take as little as 30 minutes or many hours. The lab work—also known as toxicology—usually takes a few weeks, depending on what investigators are looking for (toxins, narcotics, etc.)

When is an autopsy necessary? ASCP Procedure Statement

•    Deaths in which an autopsy may help explain unknown and unanticipated medical                                      Complications
•    Cases in which an autopsy may help allay concerns of the family and/or the public regarding the death
•    Deaths occurring in patients who have participated in clinical trials approved by institutional review boards
•    All obstetric deaths
•    All neonatal and pediatric deaths
•    Deaths at any age in which it is felt that autopsy would disclose a known or suspected illness that may also have a bearing on survivors or recipients of transplant organs
•    Deaths known or suspected to have resulted from occupational or environmental hazards
•    Sudden, unexpected, or unexplained deaths in the hospital that are apparently natural and not subject to a forensic medical jurisdiction
•    Unexpected or unexplained death occurring during or following any dental, medical, or surgical diagnostic or therapeutic procedure
•    Natural deaths that are ordinarily subject to a forensic jurisdiction, such as persons dead on arrival at the hospital and deaths in which the patient sustained or apparently sustained an injury while hospitalized.
•    Deaths resulting from high-risk infections and contagious diseases, including AIDS.

What else does an autopsy determine?
Many insurance companies will not cash a life insurance policy until they’ve determined the cause of death—and ruled out suicide. The need for an autopsy may also affect funeral plans (making it necessary to consider embalming or cremation for example) or contradict the deceased’s faith when it comes to examining the body after death.

For more information about autopsy procedures, visit The Centers for Disease Control Web site.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 10th, 2010 at 2:32 am and is filed under Planning a funeral. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.