Autopsy Procedures and Terminology Quiz

Types and Procedures of Autopsy

• Autopsies are conducted for two main purposes: hospital/non-official autopsy for medical purposes and medico-legal/official autopsy for legal purposes.
• Hospital/non-official autopsy requires consent from relatives, while medico-legal/official autopsy is conducted when the dead body belongs to the state for public interest.
• The external examination in autopsy includes a head-to-toe detailed inspection of the body, noting tattoos, scars, deformities, and injuries, and describing the position of stab or gunshot wounds.
• All findings in autopsy are documented in a final written report and photographs with a ruler and label for identification.
• Autopsy incisions include Y incision for men, T incision for women, and U incision for forensic pathology, which focuses on the muscles of the neck and the hyoid bone.
• After the incisions, the neck organs, muscles, and the ribcage are examined and dissected, and the chest cavity is exposed for examination.
• Samples of blood, urine, organs, and tissues are collected and saved for toxicological and microscopic examination.
• The organs and tissues are returned to the body cavity and the incisions are sutured.
• The forensic pathologist lists all findings in a provisional anatomic diagnoses section of the autopsy report.
• If the cause and manner of death are readily apparent, these can be listed in the autopsy report and on the death certificate.
• If the cause and manner of death are not immediately apparent, the forensic pathologist will sign a provisional death certificate as either "pending further studies" or "pending further studies and police investigation."
• If the cause of death is apparent, the forensic pathologist may sign the death certificate and add "circumstances pending police investigation (CPPI)" for unknown circumstances.