Myths, misconceptions and the autopsy.
Although examination of the dead to determine why a death occurred has probably been undertaken from the earliest times, formal investigation by a qualified specialist medical practitioner is a much more recent phenomenon. Unfortunately a number of misapprehensions and myths concerning the role and process of autopsy examination exist. While autopsies are not all that common, most medical practitioners have been faced with the onerous task of explaining to relatives what happens to the body during and after an autopsy. The following paper deals with some of the concerns that are periodically raised by non pathologist physicians and health care workers who are involved with grieving relatives. The text is aimed at health care workers and is not in an appropriate format for relatives.
Byard
R W
RW
Department of Histopathology, Women's and Children's Hospital, South Australia.
Khong
T Y
TY
D001344:Autopsy / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans