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The word comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] meaning "of seeing with one's own eyes"<ref>The Merriam-Webster Concise School and Office Dictionary, 1991</ref>

The word comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] meaning "of seeing with one's own eyes"<ref>The Merriam-Webster Concise School and Office Dictionary, 1991</ref>

For an autopsy to be legal there must either be consent of someone on behalf of the deceased (such as a spouse or parents, a common example is an autopsy on a former football player to determine if he had [[CTE]], which cannot be diagnosed until after death), or there must be a reasonable belief that a death was not due to natural causes (e.g., a person who dies from a gunshot wound, would likely be subject to autopsy to determine if the wound was accidental or on purpose, and/or if the wound was self-inflicted or done by another, to determine if criminal charges are warranted).

For an autopsy to be legal there must either be consent of someone on behalf of the deceased such as a spouse or parents (common examples are an autopsy on a former football player to determine if he had [[CTE]], which cannot be diagnosed until after death, or to determine if a medical malpractice suit can be brought), or there must be a reasonable belief that a death was not due to natural causes (e.g., a person who dies from a gunshot wound, would likely be subject to autopsy to determine if the wound was accidental or on purpose, and/or if the wound was self-inflicted or done by another) to determine if criminal charges are warranted.

An ''unauthorized'' autopsy is a [[tort]] creating a cause of action by a family member entitled to the body.<ref>Alderman v. Ford, 146 Kan. 698, 72 P.2d 981 (1937); French v. Ochsner Clinic, 200 So.2d 371 (La.1967); Burney v. Children's Hospital, 169 Mass. 57, 47 N.E. 401 (1897); Larson v. Chase, 47 Minn. 307, 50 N.W. 238 (1891); Crenshaw v. O'Connell, 235 Mo. App. 1085, 150 S.W.2d 489 (1941); Hendriksen v. Roosevelt Hosp., 297 F.Supp. 1142 (S.D.N.Y.1969); Hill v. Travelers' Ins. Co., 154 Tenn. 295, 294 S.W. 1097 (1927); Koerber v. Patek, 123 Wis. 453, 102 N.W. 40 (1905). Cf. Dean v. Chapman, 556 P.2d 257 (Okla.1976).</ref>

An ''unauthorized'' autopsy is a [[tort]] creating a cause of action by a family member entitled to the body.<ref>Alderman v. Ford, 146 Kan. 698, 72 P.2d 981 (1937); French v. Ochsner Clinic, 200 So.2d 371 (La.1967); Burney v. Children's Hospital, 169 Mass. 57, 47 N.E. 401 (1897); Larson v. Chase, 47 Minn. 307, 50 N.W. 238 (1891); Crenshaw v. O'Connell, 235 Mo. App. 1085, 150 S.W.2d 489 (1941); Hendriksen v. Roosevelt Hosp., 297 F.Supp. 1142 (S.D.N.Y.1969); Hill v. Travelers' Ins. Co., 154 Tenn. 295, 294 S.W. 1097 (1927); Koerber v. Patek, 123 Wis. 453, 102 N.W. 40 (1905). Cf. Dean v. Chapman, 556 P.2d 257 (Okla.1976).</ref>