Definition of autopsies Autopsies

/ɔˈtɑˌpsiz/ - [otapseez] -

We found 3 definitions of autopsies from 2 different sources.

What does autopsies mean?

🔤

Noun Plural: autopsies
autopsy - an examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death or the changes produced by disease
		necropsy, postmortem, post-mortem, PM, postmortem examination, post-mortem examination
		scrutiny, examination a prolonged intense look
Verb autopsies, autopsying, autopsied
autopsy - perform an autopsy on a dead body; do a post-mortem
		examine, see question closely
		medical specialty, medicine the learned profession that is mastered by graduate training in a medical school and that is devoted to preventing or alleviating or curing diseases and injuries; "he studied medicine at Harvard"

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

autopsy (Noun)
A dissection performed on a cadaver to find possible causes of death.
autopsy (Noun)
An after-the-fact examination, especially of the causes of a failure.
autopsy (Verb)
To perform an autopsy on.
autopsy (Verb)
To perform an after-the-fact analysis of, especially of a failure.

autopsy (a.)
Personal observation or examination; seeing with one's own eyes; ocular view.
autopsy (a.)
Dissection of a dead body, for the purpose of ascertaining the cause, seat, or nature of a disease; a post-mortem examination.

autopsy
Inspection and dissection of a body after death, as for determination of the cause of death.
autopsy
To perform an autopsy.

autopsy
aw′top-si, n. personal inspection, esp. the examination of a body after death.—Also Autop′sia. [Gr.; autos, self, opsis, sight.]

An autopsy (also called "post-mortem examination") is a medical examination of a corpse to find out what killed it (disease or injury). Autopsies are done by specialised doctors, called pathologists.

Autopsies are not done all the time. They are usually done either for medical reasons, or for legal ones. One of the legal reasons why an autopsy is done is to find out if the death was the result of a crime. A medical case is to find the cause of death when it is unclear. Sometimes autopsies are done to train new doctors.

Sometimes, the cause of death can be found by simply looking at the corpse without opening it. In other cases, it may need to be opened, to find the cause of death. If it is opened, it is usually closed again; most of the time, corpses are buried. Before being buried, they are on display for some time. For this, they need to look acceptable. In certain cases, like when the cropse is opened, special permissions are perhaps necessary. These are usually given by the closest living relative, called next of kin.