An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present for research or educational purposes. (The term "necropsy" is generally reserved for non-human animals). Autopsies are usually performed by a specialized medical doctor called a pathologist. In most cases, a medical examiner or coroner can determine cause of death and only a small portion of deaths require an autopsy.

The principal aims of an autopsy are to determine the cause of death, mode of death, manner of death, the state of health of the person before he or she died, and whether any medical diagnosis and treatment before death was appropriate. In most Western countries the number of autopsies performed in hospitals has been decreasing every year since 1955. Critics, including pathologist and former JAMA editor George D. Lundberg, have charged that the reduction in autopsies is negatively affecting the care delivered in hospitals, because when mistakes result in death, they are often not investigated and lessons therefore remain unlearned. When a person has given permission in advance of their death, autopsies may also be carried out for the purposes of teaching or medical research. An autopsy is frequently performed in cases of sudden death, where a doctor is not able to write a death certificate, or when death is believed to result from an unnatural cause. These examinations are performed under a legal authority (Medical Examiner or Coroner or Procurator Fiscal) and do not require the consent of relatives of the deceased. The most extreme example is the examination of murder victims, especially when medical examiners are looking for signs of death or the murder method, such as bullet wounds and exit points, signs of strangulation, or traces of poison.

Journal of Surgical Pathology and Diagnosis is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by Oxford University Press covering research on the pathogenesis, clinical investigation, medical microbiology, diagnosis, immune mechanisms, and treatment of diseases.

The Scientists, Professors, Research scholars, Doctors can publish their high quality papers for worldwide viability on our online platform. This journal is using Editorial Tracking System for online manuscript submission. Manuscript can be submitted through online portal system https://www.scholarscentral.org/submissions/surgical-pathology-diagnosis.html or send us as an e-mail attachment to surgicalpathol@emedsci.com

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Eliza Grace

Journal Manager

Journal of Surgical Pathology and Diagnosis