Autopsy is the examination and looking inside the body of a dead person to determine the cause of death. In the course of autopsy, the changes produced by the disease, or else the extent of the disease, is discovered. The word autopsy is used interchangeably with post-mortem, meaning ‘after-death’ in Latin language.The word itself, comes from the Greek, meaning ‘to see with one’s own eyes.’
Some cultures think it is sinful to disfigure the human body after death. Others, ours included, think it is harmful because the dead person would need all the organs intact, whole and perfect at his/her reincarnation; they do not want their loved ones reincarnated with scars of autopsy or missing organs as a result of the autopsy!
But we know that these fears are totally unfounded because reincarnation is only a figment of people’s imagination due to their lack of understanding of the secrets of biology. When we observe a resemblance of a person with his/her ancestor, we conclude that the ancestor has become reincarnated. They do not understand that what appears like a reincarnation is merely due to genetic transmission of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) clusters called genes at the time of fertilization of the sperm and egg of the mating partners The genes carry traits or features which are passed on from generation to generation. It is the scientific explanation of ‘reincarnation’.
By the way, autopsy is required by law in more developed countries when the cause of death is not obvious; in such cases the dead body is declared “a coroner’s case”, the Coroner, AKA Medical Examiner being a government-appointed Pathologist i.e., the doctor who specializes in understanding the nature and causes of disease.
At autopsy, a long incision is made down the front of the body to enable the internal organs to be exposed, removed, and critically examined. Tiny portions may be snipped for further examination under the microscope. The organs are returned to their respective locations. The skin incision is sutured or stitched back just as it is done after a life surgery, and a report is given after the study of the removed specimens.
Please note that the autopsy is not noticeable during viewing of the body before burial.
Autopsy can still be performed after embalment. However, blood analysis will no longer be reliable, as it would have been contaminated by the embalming chemicals.
The goal of the autopsy report is to help the treating physicians and family of the deceased understand how and why that person died. It settles controversies, if any, concerning the cause of death. It may also reveal a preventable disease that may run in a family, the knowledge of which may be important to living family members in caring for their own health.
Autopsy is what gave European Medicine a head start over African Medicine. Below is the painting of an autopsy being performed in Europe as far back as in the 17th century. The demonstrator is educating the medical students on the structures found inside the left arm.
Professor Uchenna Nwosu, MD
19 June 2024
