ANSWERS: 4
  • Autopsies are performed when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly while in apparently good health. Autopsies may also be performed at the request of the family of the deceased. They can also be performed if the body was at a crime scene, and is fully examined for any type of evidence in a homicide case.
  • Generally in the U.S. autopsies are performed when there is suspicion of foul play, when there is some public health concern, like a mysterious disease, if someone dies unattended by a physician, or if the attending physician is uncomfortable signing the death certificate. Even if none of these conditions apply, the next-of-kin can request an autopsy. If an experimental treatment was being used, if a patient dies unexpectedly during a procedure that is rarely life-threatening, or if there are concerns about genetic implications, the state or the next-of-kin may decide to request this. An autopsy may also be performed when there are implications affecting insurance payouts. Individual jurisdictions may have additional circumstances in which an autopsy is required. Some religious groups are opposed to autopsies and some require that a person in authority from that religion is present during the proceedings to ensure that their religious tenets are not compromised. http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/hw2451.asp
  • Autopsies are performed when a person dies in their home, or outside a medical environment. I was very interested to find out that while the family may request that an autopsy be performed, they cannot prevent one from happening. When my Grandmother died in her sleep, one of her children was opposed her having an autopsy. She felt it was far to invasive and she argued that her mother had already been diagnosed with multiple life threatening illnesses and we could just assume that it was one of those that caused her death. The coroner stated that was exactly why an autopsy was required, to determine which one of those diseases was the cause of her death. (Or was it something totally different!). PS: This information is from Ontario, Canada.
  • Any suspicious death requires an autopsy.

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