Editing Autopsy (section)

== Types ==
[[File:Helsingin yliopiston dissektiosali.jpg|thumb|Dissection room at the [[University of Helsinki]] in Finland in 1928]]
There are four main types of autopsy:<ref name="Strasser 95">{{cite book|last=Strasser|first=Russell S.|title=Forensic Science|url=https://archive.org/details/forensicscience00emba|url-access=limited|chapter=Autopsies|editor=Ayn Embar-seddon, Allan D. Pass|publisher=Salem Press|year=2008|page=[https://archive.org/details/forensicscience00emba/page/n114 95]|isbn=978-1-58765-423-7}}</ref>
* '''''Medico-legal''''' or '''''forensic''''' or '''''coroner's autopsies''''' seek to find the cause and manner of death and to identify the decedent.<ref name="Strasser 95" /> They are generally performed, as prescribed by applicable law, in cases of violent, suspicious or sudden deaths, deaths without medical assistance, or during surgical procedures.<ref name="Strasser 95" />
* '''''Clinical''''' or '''''pathological autopsies''''' are performed to diagnose a particular disease or for research purposes. They aim to determine, clarify, or confirm medical [[Diagnosis|diagnoses]] that remained unknown or unclear before the patient's death.<ref name="Strasser 95" />
* '''''Anatomical''''' or '''''academic autopsies''''' are performed by students of anatomy for study purposes only.
* '''''Virtual''''' or '''''medical imaging autopsies'''''<nowiki/> are performed utilizing imaging technology only, primarily magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT).<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Roberts IS, Benamore RE, Benbow EW, Lee SH, Harris JN, Jackson A, Mallett S, Patankar T, Peebles C, Roobottom C, Traill ZC | title = Post-mortem imaging as an alternative to autopsy in the diagnosis of adult deaths: A validation study | journal = The Lancet | volume = 379 | issue = 9811 | pages = 136–42 | year = 2012 | pmid = 22112684 | pmc = 3262166 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61483-9 }}</ref>

=== Forensic autopsy ===
[[File:2010-07-23-rechtsmedizin-berlin-8.jpg|thumb|Autopsy room of the [[Charité|Charité Berlin]], Germany, 2010]]
A forensic autopsy is used to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death.

[[Forensic science]] involves the application of the sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system.

Medical examiners attempt to determine the time of death, the exact cause of death, and what, if anything, preceded the death, such as a struggle.  A forensic autopsy may include obtaining biological specimens from the deceased for toxicological testing, including stomach contents.  [[Toxicology]] tests may reveal the presence of one or more chemical "poisons" (all chemicals, in [[the dose makes the poison|sufficient quantities]], can be classified as a poison) and their quantity. Because post-mortem deterioration of the body, together with the gravitational pooling of bodily fluids, will necessarily alter the bodily environment, toxicology tests may overestimate, rather than underestimate, the quantity of the suspected chemical.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.relentlessdefense.com/forensics/autopsy/|title=Autopsy &#124; Mahoney Criminal Defense Group|website=Mahoney|accessdate=27 May 2025}}</ref>

Following an in-depth examination of all the [[evidence]], a medical examiner or [[coroner]] will assign a [[manner of death]] from the choices proscribed by the fact-finder's jurisdiction and will detail the evidence on the mechanism of the death.

=== Clinical autopsy ===
[[File:Human dissection of the abdominal and toraxic organs.jpg|thumb|Pathologist performing a human dissection of the abdominal and thoracic organs in an autopsy room]]
Clinical autopsies serve two major purposes. They are performed to gain more insight into [[Pathology|pathological]] processes and determine what factors contributed to a patient's death. For example, material for infectious disease testing can be collected during an autopsy.<ref name="AJCPCOVID">{{cite journal | vauthors = Barton L, Duval E, Stroberg E, Ghosh S, Mukhopadhyay S | title = COVID-19 autopsies, Oklahoma, USA | journal = American Journal of Clinical Pathology | date = April 2020 | volume = 153 | issue = 6 | pages = 725–733 | doi = 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa062 | pmid = 32275742 | pmc = 7184436 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Autopsies are also performed to ensure the standard of care at hospitals. Autopsies can yield insight into how patient deaths can be prevented in the future.

Within the United Kingdom, clinical autopsies can be carried out only with the consent of the family of the deceased person, as opposed to a medico-legal autopsy instructed by a Coroner (England & Wales) or Procurator Fiscal (Scotland), to which the family cannot object.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Post-mortem examination in the United Kingdom: present and future |journal= Autopsy and Case Reports|date=2017 |pmc=5507562 |last1=Peres |first1=L. C. |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=1–3 |doi=10.4322/acr.2017.017 |pmid=28740832 }}</ref>

Over time, autopsies have not only been able to determine the cause of death, but have also led to discoveries of various diseases such as fetal alcohol syndrome, Legionnaire's disease, and even viral hepatitis.

=== Academic autopsy ===
Academic autopsies are performed by students of anatomy for the purpose of study, giving medical students and residents firsthand experience viewing anatomy and pathology. Postmortem examinations require the skill to connect anatomic and clinical pathology together since they involve organ systems and interruptions from ante-mortem and post-mortem. These academic autopsies allow for students to practice and develop skills in pathology and become meticulous in later case examinations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Krywanczyk |first1=Alison |last2=Mount |first2=Sharon |title=In Defense of the Academic Autopsy |journal=Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine |date=February 2018 |volume=142 |issue=2 |pages=157–158 |doi=10.5858/arpa.2017-0344-LE |pmid=29372850 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Virtual autopsy ===
Virtual autopsies are performed using radiographic techniques which can be used in post-mortem examinations for a deceased individual.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wichmann |first1=Dominic |last2=Obbelode |first2=Frieder |last3=Vogel |first3=Hermann |last4=Hoepker |first4=Wilhelm Wolfgang |last5=Nierhaus |first5=Axel |last6=Braune |first6=Stephan |last7=Sauter |first7=Guido |last8=Pueschel |first8=Klaus |last9=Kluge |first9=Stefan |title=Virtual Autopsy as an Alternative to Traditional Medical Autopsy in the Intensive Care Unit: A Prospective Cohort Study |journal=Annals of Internal Medicine |date=17 January 2012 |volume=156 |issue=2 |pages=123–130 |doi=10.7326/0003-4819-156-2-201201170-00008 |pmid=22250143 }}</ref> It is an alternative to medical autopsies, where radiographs are used, for example, [[Magnetic resonance imaging]] (MRI) and Computed tomography ([[CT scan]]) which produce radiographic images in order to determine the cause of death, the nature, and the manner of death, without dissecting the deceased. It can also be used in the identification of the deceased.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Filograna |first1=Laura |last2=Pugliese |first2=Luca |last3=Muto |first3=Massimo |last4=Tatulli |first4=Doriana |last5=Guglielmi |first5=Giuseppe |last6=Thali |first6=Michael John |last7=Floris |first7=Roberto |title=A Practical Guide to Virtual Autopsy: Why, When and How |journal=Seminars in Ultrasound, CT and MRI |date=February 2019 |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=56–66 |doi=10.1053/j.sult.2018.10.011 |pmid=30686369 }}</ref> This method is helpful in determining the questions pertaining to an autopsy without putting the examiner at risk of biohazardous materials that can be in an individual's body.