Specialized Topics
Autopsy and Organ Donation: How the Two Processes Interact
Organ donation and autopsy can usually coexist. How timing, sequencing, and consent work, and what families should ask before deciding.
· 7 min read
Guides & Resources
Educational articles about autopsies, forensic pathology, and navigating the death investigation process.
All
After The Autopsy Autopsy Costs Financial Cause Of Death Scenarios Finding Autopsy Services For Professionals Grief Coping Insurance Death Benefits Legal Rights Autopsy Law Private Vs Government Autopsies Specialized Topics Specific Populations State Autopsy Guides Understanding Autopsies
Cause Of Death Scenarios
Workplace Fatality Investigations: How OSHA and the Medical Examiner Work Together
When a worker dies on the job, the medical examiner and OSHA run parallel investigations. How the two interact and what families can expect.
· 8 min read
Cause Of Death Scenarios
Heat Stroke and Hyperthermia Deaths: How Autopsies Confirm Environmental Causes
How forensic pathologists confirm hyperthermia at autopsy, why the manner of death matters in heat deaths, and what families should know.
· 8 min read
Specific Populations
Maternal Death Investigation: What Families Should Know When a Mother Dies
What the autopsy looks for after a pregnancy-related death, how maternal mortality review committees work, and what families should expect.
· 8 min read
Specialized Topics
Postmortem Interval: How Forensic Pathologists Estimate Time of Death
How pathologists estimate time of death using body temperature, rigor, lividity, and insect evidence, and why the answer is always a range.
· 7 min read
Specialized Topics
Forensic Odontology and Dental Identification: How Teeth Identify the Deceased
How forensic odontologists compare dental records to identify remains, when the method is used, and how reliable a dental ID actually is.
· 7 min read
For Professionals
NAME Accreditation Explained: What It Means When an Autopsy Office Is Accredited
What NAME accreditation requires of a medical examiner office, why it matters to your case, and how to check whether your office holds it.
· 7 min read
Finding Autopsy Services
How to Request a Hospital Autopsy, and Why Fewer Are Performed
How to request a hospital autopsy after a death in care, what it costs, why rates collapsed since the 1970s, and when to go private instead.
· 8 min read
Specialized Topics
Exhumation and Second Autopsy: When and How Bodies Are Disinterred for Investigation
When exhumation is legally available, how the court process works, what a second autopsy can still discover, and what families should expect.
· 8 min read
Cause Of Death Scenarios
SIDS and SUID: Sudden Infant Death and What Families Should Know About the Autopsy
The difference between SIDS and SUID, what the infant autopsy examines, why the scene investigation matters, and what families can expect.
· 8 min read
After The Autopsy
Tissue and Organ Retention After Autopsy: What Happens to Samples and Your Rights
What tissue, organs, and slides are kept after an autopsy, why and for how long, and how families request return, disposal, or access.
· 9 min read
After The Autopsy
Autopsy Report Glossary: Medical and Forensic Terms Explained for Families
A plain-language glossary of the medical and Latin terms families meet most often in an autopsy report, with context for what each means.
· 10 min read