An autopsy is a medical investigation to determine cause of death or extent of disease after death. It usually involves some dissection. Most commonly, an autopsy is done when there is 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).
The word comes from the Greek meaning "of seeing with one's own eyes"[1]
An unauthorized autopsy is a tort creating a cause of action by a family member entitled to the body.[2]
The term has entered the English language to mean any detailed review of an event (such as a poor performance by a political candidate, an example being the showing by President Biden in the 2024 debate with former President Trump).
See also
References
- ↑ The Merriam-Webster Concise School and Office Dictionary, 1991
- ↑ 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).