Histopathology 2: Autopsy

Question 1

List some benefits of autopsies

Answer 1

Medical: Final diagnosis, cause of death, correlation of clinical course to pathologic changes = gold standard for evaluating diagnostic accuracy and treatment effects, QM

Family of the deceased: Certainty about what happened, relieve irrational guilt, assistance with the grieving process, hereditary diseases, infectious diseases, insurance compensation

Public health: Accurate epidemiological statistics, surveillance of communicable diseases

Medical education: Provision of teaching materials, practical experience of anatomy and pathology, integration and correlation of theoretical and practical clinical knowledge

Medical research: Discover new diseases, detect changing patterns of well known entities, evaluate drug toxicity/unwanted effects and efficacy of new treatments, provision of tissue samples

Question 2

Which deaths have to be referred to the coroner?

Answer 2

All deaths of children and young people under 18, even if due to natural causes

Deaths within 24 hours of admission to hospital

Deaths that may be linked to medical treatment, surgery or anaesthetic procedure

Deaths that may be linked to an accident, however long ago it happened

Deaths that may be linked to drugs or medications, whether prescribed or illicit

If there is a possibility that the person took their own life

If there are any suspicious circumstances or history of violence

Deaths that may be linked to the person’s occupation, for example if they have been exposed to asbestos

All deaths of people who are in custody or detained under the Mental Health Act, even if due to natural causes

Question 3

What is needed to register the death of a person?

Answer 3

Medical certificate of the cause of death

Question 4

Who issues the medical certificate of the cause of death?

Answer 4

This may be issued by a doctor who has treated or seen the deceased in the 14 days before death and knows the cause of death

OR

The coroner reviews the case, is satisfied that death was due to a natural cause and instructs a hospital doctor or the GP to issue the certificate.

Question 5

What do post mortems ascertain?

Answer 5

Identity of the deceased

Time of death

Place of death

Cause of death (on the balance of probability)

Is an inquest required?

Question 6

What is letulle’s method of evisceration?

Answer 6

retroperitoneal approach

blunt dissection of the pelvic organs and peritoneum from the surrounding bones