There is not only one type of autopsy on a corpse, what are the others?

An autopsy is an examination of a corpse to determine the cause and time of death, the impact of an illness, and sometimes identify identities. Although synonymous with this purpose, it turns out that not all types of autopsy have the same purpose.

An autopsy procedure that you may encounter in detective stories is a forensic autopsy. Apart from these procedures, there are still several types of autopsies that are performed for their own purposes. Check out the following information to find out the types.

Be familiar with the different types of autopsy

There are various reasons why an autopsy is needed. For investigators and the forensic team, an autopsy can help investigate cases of unnatural deaths. Meanwhile, for researchers and students, this procedure can provide benefits to the academic realm.

Based on the objectives, an autopsy is divided into the following.

1. Medico-legal autopsy

Medico-legal autopsy or forensic autopsy aims to identify the identity of the corpse and determine the cause, time and how the death occurred. The autopsy results will later assist the authorities in uncovering the related death cases.

If the death case is deemed unreasonable, the family or the authorities can forward the case to the coroner team (medical examiner for death) for further investigation.

According to The Royal College of Pathologists , the types of cases that require an autopsy include:

• Death of unknown cause.
• Sudden, unnatural, and inexplicable death.
• Death related to violence.
• Death occurs during surgery or before the patient awakens from the anesthesia.
• Suspected death from poisoning, drug overdose, homicide, or suicide.
• The person who died became seriously ill, but did not see his medical team at the last moment.

Forensic autopsies are performed by selected pathological doctors based on strict legal rules. After the autopsy is done and the report is made, the bodies will be returned to the family. The investigation was continued until a bright spot was obtained.

2. Clinical autopsy

This type of autopsy aims to study and diagnose the disease that caused death. Sometimes, relatives and the person who died request an autopsy to find out more about the cause of death.

Generally, clinical autopsy is performed for the following reasons:

• The disease that causes death cannot be ascertained.
• An autopsy provides information about a disease that may be genetic.
• An autopsy can help develop treatment for the disease.
• Autopsy helps the medical world in learning the ins and outs of the disease.

Clinical autopsy can only be done with the consent of the family or partner. In some cases, consent can also come from the person concerned before death.

The consent given also covers only the parts of the body that can be operated on. Depending on the disease under study, this type of autopsy may only be performed on the head, chest, stomach, or certain tissues and organs.

3. Autopsy for academic purposes

In addition to clinical and investigative purposes, autopsy is also beneficial for students pursuing medical education. For example, for studying the anatomy of the human body or while studying forensic science. Autopsy for medical purposes is performed under the supervision of the teaching team and is only performed on certain occasions.

Autopsy has a variety of benefits, both for families, authorities, and the medical team. This is also the reason why autopsies are still the mainstay of the method for studying certain illnesses and cases of death that require further investigation.

The results of the autopsy will help the relative in understanding the cause of death. This is one way that can help a person in dealing with the loss of a loved one.