Forensic Pathology Topics

An autopsy determines the cause and nature of death.

Forensic pathology is a specialized area of pathology, where forensic pathologists perform autopsies, also known as post-mortems, to determine the cause and manner of deaths that fall under the jurisdiction of a local coroner or medical examiner. Despite a fascination with this field--due to numerous television series and movies--approximately 50 percent of the autopsies that forensic pathologists perform are natural deaths.

Single Organ Autopsies

A single organ autopsy such as a brain, heart or liver may be completed when someone with a disease such as Alzheimer's, leaves his body to medical science to further anatomical and medical research of that disease. The Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who rely upon cadavers to further its important research, performed a study to determine why there is such an unwillingness to consider donating bodies for medical research. The school found that "demographic and attitudinal factors are strongly related to willingness to consider cadaver donation, and efforts to enhance donation should seek to identify ways in which potential barriers to donation can be addressed by health professionals."

Standard Autopsy

Forensic pathologists consider a standard autopsy to consist of a full external examination; record of weight, height and identifying marks such as scars, birthmarks and tattoos; analysis of blood and stomach contents; and examination of the chest, abdomen, and brain. If these activities do not provide a definitive cause of death, pathologists will complete further tests, until a probable cause is determined. According to forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Cohen, a standard autopsy takes approximately two hours.

Findings

According to the National Association of Medical Examiners, an autopsy must include the consideration of three important factors: the cause, mechanism and manner of death. The cause is a physical agent used to bring about death, such as a bullet; the mechanism is the pathological agent in the body that resulted in the death, such as excessive bleeding; and the manner of death is considered to be natural, accident, homicide or suicide. When the manner of death cannot be determined it can be classified as an undetermined death.

References

• Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine: Whole Body Donation for Medical Science
• Joseph Cohen: Forensic Pathologist
• National Association of Medical Examiners

Resources

• Forensic Medical