When a person dies of unknown causes, modern forensic pathologists may perform a full or partial autopsy. In some situations, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT scan) may be used to look deep inside the body.
Although imaging technology is new to forensic pathologists, the process of performing autopsies to understand how a person died is an ancient practice dating back thousands of years.
What is dissection?
anatomy The internal and external examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death. An autopsy helps determine how a person died and whether the cause of death was natural causes or murder or suicide.
forensic pathologist usually decides Is an autopsy necessary? For example, people who die of cancer in hospice care likely do not require an autopsy because their medical history and cause of death are well known. This type of dissection is known as a clinical dissection or hospital-based dissection. However, people found dead in forest reserves are likely to be autopsied due to suspicious circumstances. This is known as a forensic autopsy.
There are also differences between forensic autopsy and anatomical autopsy.
“The difference between an autopsy and an autopsy is the purpose. An autopsy is for research. A forensic autopsy is to determine the cause of death,” says Victor Wien, past president of the American Academy of Forensic Medicine.
anatomical dissection controversial This research has been done for centuries in Europe and the United States, as medical students often stole new graves to study corpses.
In contrast, a forensic autopsy was performed only when the cause of death was suspicious or unknown. This is a practice that has been around for thousands of years.
“Going back to the early days of society, people are very interested in who kills who,” Wien says.
read more: Autopsies pending: Why we need more medical examiners
ancient anatomy
There is a record Animal dissection dates back to ancient Egypt in 4000 BC Human dissection dates back to ancient Egypt in 3000 BC These dissections are used to learn more about human anatomy and to determine the cause of death in murder cases. It was carried out.
After Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Senate in 44 BC, doctors even performed an autopsy, even though the cause of death was clear.
“A doctor examined him and said one of the 32 stab wounds was fatal,” Wien said.
Death investigations were conducted in ancient times, but there was no uniformity in how cases were approached and how evidence was handled. In the 13th century, the Chinese physician Song Shi wrote: of wash away evil, Meaning of guide To inform death investigators of appropriate procedures.
“This is considered the first guide in forensic science,” Wien says. ”of wash away mistakes This is actually a manual for other investigators on how to investigate deaths. It talks about how to determine if a body in the water is a suicide or homicidal drowning. ”
Forensic pathology was also used in Europe investigate death. For example, in Bologna in 1289, a judge summoned two doctors to the church to examine a victim who had died from multiple stab wounds. Doctors found 11 stab wounds, but determined all but one were fatal. However, the Catholic Church There was a problem This practice was banned and remained so until the 1500s.
The rise of forensic autopsy
After the Catholic Church gave the green light for a forensic autopsy, doctors began the process of investigating the disease and suspicious death through an autopsy. By the 1800s, pathology was considered Unique discipline.
As the specialty emerged, so did the idea of having a physician to determine the cause of death for legal purposes if foul play was discovered or suspected.
In the United States, Maryland was the first state in 1860 to pass a law requiring: be a trained physician; I had to attend the inquest. Some states have organized their medical legal systems so that autopsies are performed under the judgment of coroners who are trained physicians.
Other jurisdictions maintain an elected coroner to oversee the autopsy. A trained physician must perform the autopsy, but the coroner may choose not to order one and is responsible for certifying the results.
When coroner’s offices developed in the 20th century, training for specialized physicians was not yet necessary.
“They didn’t have forensic pathologists per se; they were just doctors doing their jobs,” Wien says.
Forensic pathology has evolved into special training requiredpost-medical pathology training, followed by an additional fellowship in forensic pathology.
read more: The looming coroner shortage has historical parallels.
The future of anatomy
Forensic pathology will remain as long as there are suspicious deaths, but advances in technology may one day allow image processing to replace traditional autopsies.
Postmortem imaging tests are being conducted in Japan. is standard In contrast to dissection. The autopsy rate is only 2% of the total. Even if a death is deemed “unusual,” only 11 percent of cases are followed by a traditional autopsy.
Instead, CT scans and MRIs are used to determine the cause of death. This is a practice that more countries are considering, and traditional dissection rates are currently declining around the world as imaging becomes more accessible and more capable.
In the future, ancient dissection practices may become ancient history.
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Emily Ruckage writes for some of the nation’s largest newspapers, including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree from DePaul University. She also holds a Ph.D. She received her PhD in communications from the University of Illinois at Chicago with an emphasis on media framing, message construction, and stigma communication. Emily is the author of three nonfiction books. The third book, A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy, will be released by Chicago Review Press on October 3, 2023 and is co-authored with survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin. There is.
