Autopsy

An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode and manner of death or to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present for research or educational purposes.

1. By
Ms. Preeti
SMVDCoN

2. INTRODUCTION
postmortem•Anautopsyisalsoknownas
examination, necropsy orobduction
thorough
injury
•Itisamedicalprocedurethatconsistsofa
examination of a dead body to determine thecause
& manner of death & to evaluate any diseaseor
that may bepresent
•Itisusuallyperformedbyaspecializedmedicaldoctor
called apathologist.

3. ▪Anautopsy(post-mortemexamination,obduction,
necropsy,orautopsiacadaverum)isasurgical
procedurethatconsistsofathoroughexaminationof
acorpsebydissectiontodeterminethecause,mode
andmannerofdeathortoevaluateanydiseaseor
injurythatmaybepresentforresearchoreducational
purposes.Inmostcases,amedicalexamineror
coronercandeterminecauseofdeathandonlya
smallportionofdeathsrequireanautopsy.

4. •The term “autopsy”derived
fromtheGreekword“to
see foroneself”
•“ Necropsy” is form theGreek
word “seeingadeadbody”
•Necropsy is the termfor
a postmortem
examination onanimal.

5. Purposes
▪Autopsies are performed for either legal or medical purposes.
Autopsies can be performed when any of the following information is
desired:
▪Determine if death was natural orunnatural
▪Injury source and extent on thecorpse
▪Manner of death must bedetermined
▪Time sincedeath
▪Establish identity ofdeceased
▪Retain relevantorgans
▪If infant, determine live birth andviability

6. Itisperformed incertaincasessuchas:
oCommittedsuicide
oUnknown cause ofdeath
oUnknown deadbodies
oHomicide (The killing of one
human being byanother)
areexamined
oTheorgansandtissuesofthe
body
theexactcause
toestablish
of death ,to
learn more aboutadisease

7. Externalexaminationofdeadbody
without incisions, fluids can be collected
with thehelpofneedle.
e.g.Blood,bile,Urine
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POSTMORTEM

8. Rules for Medico-LegalAutopsy
Authorization.
Identification.
Visit of scene ofcrime.
History of thecase.
Verificationofthe injuriesnotedbythe
police.
Examination.
Notes.
Preservation of viscera and other
tissue.
List ofartifacts.

9. AUTOPSYTYPES:
Post-mortem
examination
Medical/clinical/
pathological /
hospitalautopsy.
Anatomical
autopsy
Psychological
autopsy
VirtualAutopsy
Medico-legal
autopsy

10. I.MEDICAL/ACADEMIC
AUTOPSY:
Carried on apatient
who dies in a hospital
during course oftreatment.
1
0

11. OBJECTIVES
1. To determine the cause ofdeath.
2. To confirm or establish theclinical
diagnosis
3. To evaluate the effects oftreatment
givenduringlife.
4.Performed by a pathologistwith
consentofrelatives.

12. II.ANATOMICALAUTOPSY
It is performed to study normal
structureofhumanbody.
Mostly on unclaimed deadbodies
Anatomist and medical students
performthis.

13. III. PSYCHOLOGICALAUTOPSY
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It is undertaken on allegedcasesofsuicide to knowabout
thementalstatus of deceased at the timeofdeath.
It is perform to knowabout:
Background ofperson
His habits,mentalstatus,personality,character.
Relation toothers
Sources of collection of informationare
Familymembers,
friends,
professional
colleagues,
teachers
physicians

14. IV.POSTMORTEMEXAMINATION
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Examinationofexternal
ofcorpsebysurfaces
inspection
incision
without
for
giving
systemic
examination.
Howeverspecimenofbody
fluidslikebloodbileurine
maybecollected.

15. V. VIRTUALAUTOPSY
1
5
It is a postmortem examination
withoutcompromising the integrity
of thebody,evenwithoutcollection
ofsample.
Due to some reason or disease theautopsy
ofdeadbody is not possible then by the
helpofradiologicalexamination we can
detect the cause ofdeath.
Methods
X-rays,ultrasound,
CTscanMRI.

16. VI.MEDICO-LEGALAUTOPSY
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Essentialexamination
of deadbody,
to rule out orestablish
foul play indeath.

17. II.MEDICO-LEGALAUTOPSY
17
It is perform in pursuance
oflawto establish the
causeandmanner ofdeath
andalsotoestablish or
rule out foulplay.

18. CLASSIFICATION: Three maintypes
•Forensic •Clinical
•/academic •Coroner’s

19. 1.FORENSIC
•This is done for medical legal
purposes
•No family permission is required
tocompletethis type ofautopsy
•This is carried out when thecause
ofdeathmay be a criminal matter
such asaccidentorburns

20. 2.CLINICAL/ACADEMIC
•This is usually performed in hospitalsfor
research & studypurposes
•For a clinical autopsy to take place, causeof
death must be established & adeath
certificatecompleted
•To complete this type of autopsy,permission
from the deceased’s legal next of kinis

21. 3.CORONER’S
•Thistypeofautopsyinvolvescaseswhereno
medical cause of death is readilyavailable
•Cause,manner&mechanismofdeatharein
question
•Eventually,theprospectorswillidentify
whether thecasesdeservecomprehensive
forensic autopsy or a routinepostmortem

22. FORENSIC
AUTOPSY

23. •It is used to determine the cause ofdeath.
Deaths are placed in following manners:
•Natural
•Accident
•Suicide
•Homicide
•Undetermined

24. THEPROCESS
•Thebodyisreceivedatamedicalexaminer’sofficeor
hospital in a body bag or evidencesheet
•A brand new body bag is used for each bodyto
ensure that only evidence from that bodyis
contained within thebag
•An Evidence sheets are an alternate wayto
transport thebody
•An evidence sheet is a sterile sheet in which the
body iscovered

25. PHYSICALEXAMINATIONINVOLVES
External
examination
Internal
examination

26. EXTERNALEXAMINATION
•After the body is received, It is firstphotographed
•The examiner then notes the kinds of clothes &their
position on the body before they areremoved
•Next,anyevidencesuchasresidue,flakesofpaintor
othermaterialiscollectedfromtheexternalsurfaceof
thebody
•Ultravioletlightmayalsobeusedtosearchbody
surfacesforanyevidencenoteasilyvisibletothe
nakedeye

27. •Samples of hair, nails are taken & the body may also be
radio graphicallyimaged
•Once the external evidence is collected, the body is
removedfromthebag,undressed&anywoundpresentare
examined
•The body is cleaned, weighed & measuredin
preparation for the internalexamination
•Thescaleusedtoweighthebodyisoftendesignedto
accommodatethecartthatbodyistransportedon,its
weightisthendeductedfromthetotalweightshownto
give the weight of thebody

28. •Ifnotalreadywithinanautopsyroom, thebodyis
transported to the table of autopsyroom
•Ageneraldescriptionofthe body suchas:race,
sex, age, hair color & length, eyecolor&other
distinguishing features(birthmarks,old
scar tissue, moles etc) is thenmade
•A hand held voice recorder or astandard
examination form is normally used torecord
thisinformation

29. INTERNALEXAMINATION
•Ifnotalreadyinplace,aplasticorrubberbrickcalleda“body
block”isplacedunderthebackofthebody,causingthearms&
necktofallbackwardwhilestretching&pushingthechest
upwardtomakeiteasiertocutopen
•Thisgivestheprospector/apathologistorassistance,
maximum exposure to thetrunk
•After this, the internal examinationbegins
•Theinternalexaminationconsistsofinspectingtheinternal
organsofthebodyforevidenceoftraumaorotherindicationsof
causeofdeath

30. •A large & deep “Y” shape incision can be
madefrombehindeachear &runningdown
the sides of neck, meeting atthe
breastbone
•This is the approach most often usedin
forensic autopsies so as toallow
maximum exposure of neck structuresfor
later detailedexamination

31. •A “T” shape incision made from the tips of both
shoulder,in ahorizontallineacrosstheregionof
the collar bones to meet at sternum inthe
middle
•Thisinitial cutis used more often to producea
more aesthetic finish to the body when it isre-
constituted as stitching marks will not beas
apparent as with a“Y”shape
•A single vertical cut is made from the middleof

33. RECONSTITUTION OF THEBODY
•Aftertheexamination,thebodyhasanopen&empty
chest cavity with chest flaps open on bothsides,thetopof
the skull is missing & the skull flaps arepulled
over the face &neck
•Itisunusualtoexaminetheface,arms,handsorlegs
internally.
•Alltheorgans&tissuemustbereturnedtothebody
unlesspermissionisgivenbyfamilytoretainanytissue
for furtherinvestigation

35. •Normally,theinternalbodycavityislinedwith
cottonwoodoranappropriatematerial,the
organs are then placed into a plastic bagto
prevent leakage & returned to the bodycavity
•Thechestflapsarethenclosed&sewnback
together & the skull cap is sewed back inplace
•Then the body may be wrapped in asheet

36. PREAUTOPSYFORMALITIES/PROTOCOL OFAUTOPSY
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1.VISIT OF SCENE OFCRIME
2.TRANSPOSITION OFCORPS
3.REGISTRATION OF DEADBODIES
4.STORAGE OF DEADBODIES
5.LEGALFORMALITIES
6.OTHERFORMALITIES
7.PLACE OF PERFORMINGAUTOPSY

37. A. VISIT OF SCENE OFCRIME
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Not done inourcountrybut in
Europeancountriesthe autopsy
surgeonvisits the scene ofcrime.
The actiondonethereare
1.Cordening ofscene.
2.Position in relationto
surroundingobjects
3.Presence of or position ofweapons,
blood
stains, marks ofstruggle
4.Preservation of foot prints andother
trace
evidence.
5.Photography ofscene.

38. B.TRANSPOSITION OFCORPSE
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Thedeadbodiesshouldbetransportedtomortuaryrapped in plasticbags
,tied on both ends, withallitsbelongings

39. C.REGISTRATION OF DEAD BODIES
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On receipt of corp. authorized staff
shouldmakeentries in tworegisters
1.GeneralRegister
2.AutopsyRegister

40. COLUMNS OF GENERAL REGISTERARE
1.Serialnumbers
2.Date and time of receipt ofcorpse
3.Name and ID ofdiseased
4.Name and No of police officials and hispolice
station
5.Date and time of delivery ofcorpse
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41. COLUMNS OF AUTOPSY REGISTERARE
1.YearlyNo.
2.AutopsyNo.
3.Name, date and time ofautopsy.
4.Details about specimen collected and labwhere
sent.
5.Provisional /final conclusion regardingcause
ofdeath.
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42. STORAGE OF DEADBODIES
There are two types ofstorage..
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•-20
0C
•[forpreservation]
Long
termat
•+4
0C
•[for autopsypurpose]
Short
termat

43. PLACE OF PERFORMING AUTOPSY
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MORTUARY:isaroomora
buildingusuallypartofthe
hospitaltowhichdeadbodies
aretakentobekeptforuntil
theirburialorsomeother
disposal.Autopsyroomisthat
partofthemortuarywheredead
bodiesaredissected.

45. INSTRUMENTS COMMONLY USEDIN
AUTOPSY
Surgicalblade/knife
Scissors
Probe
Dissectingforceps
Cartilageknife
Ribshears
Chisel
Hammer
Saw
Boneforceps
Skullelevator
Brainknife
Scalpel
Knife
Measuringjug
Weighingmachine
Magnifyinglens
Trays(steel)
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46. INSTRUMENTS COMMONLY USEDIN
AUTOPSY
46
Surgical handgloves
Sewingmaterial
Preservatives
Labeling /sealing
material