Autopsy Report Glossary: Medical and Forensic Terms Explained for Families

Reading an autopsy report without a medical degree

An autopsy report is written by a pathologist for other physicians. The vocabulary is dense, the sentences are long, and the structure assumes a medical reader. For a grieving family, that can make the document feel impenetrable — sometimes more upsetting than the death itself.

This glossary defines the terms you are most likely to encounter in a real autopsy report, in plain English. It is meant to be read alongside the plain-language guide to reading an autopsy report and the broader understanding-your-autopsy-report overview. For terms specific to insurance or legal classification — like the difference between cause and manner of death — start with the five manner-of-death classifications guide.

How an autopsy report is organized

Most reports follow a standard structure:

• Demographics and case summary
• External examination — what the body looked like
• Internal examination — what each organ system looked like during dissection
• Microscopic examination (histology) — what the tissue samples showed under a microscope
• Toxicology results — what was in the blood, urine, vitreous, and other fluids
• Opinion / cause of death statement — the pathologist’s final conclusion
• Cause of death and manner of death as written for the death certificate

For the step-by-step process behind those sections, see the linked guide.

General terms

• Antemortem — before death.
• Postmortem — after death.
• Perimortem — at or around the time of death.
• Decedent — the person who died.
• Autolysis — the body’s normal self-digestion after death; not the same as decomposition.
• Putrefaction / decomposition — bacterial breakdown of tissue after death.
• Postmortem interval (PMI) — the time elapsed between death and examination.
• Rigor mortis — the stiffening of muscles after death.
• Livor mortis (lividity) — the pooling and discoloration of blood in dependent parts of the body.
• Algor mortis — the cooling of the body after death.
• Embalming — preservative treatment of the body, which can affect later examination; see whether autopsies can still be performed after embalming or cremation.

External examination terms

• Abrasion — a scrape; injury to the outer skin layers.
• Contusion — a bruise; bleeding into tissue without breaking the skin.
• Laceration — a tear in tissue from blunt force.
• Incised wound — a cut from a sharp object.
• Stab wound — a sharp-force injury that is deeper than it is long.
• Petechiae — pinpoint hemorrhages, often associated with asphyxia or compression.
• Ecchymosis — a larger area of bruising.
• Avulsion — tissue forcibly torn away.
• Pattern injury — an injury whose shape suggests the object that caused it.

Cardiovascular terms

• Atherosclerosis — fatty plaque buildup in arteries.
• Coronary artery disease (CAD) — atherosclerosis specifically of the heart’s blood supply.
• Myocardial infarction (MI) — a heart attack; tissue death from blocked blood flow.
• Cardiomegaly — enlarged heart.
• Hypertrophy — thickened heart muscle, often from high blood pressure.
• Cardiomyopathy — a primary disease of the heart muscle.
• Arrhythmia — abnormal heart rhythm.
• Aortic dissection — a tear in the wall of the body’s largest artery.

For sudden deaths in young people where these findings appear, see the sudden cardiac death and molecular autopsy guide.

Respiratory terms

• Edema — fluid accumulation; pulmonary edema means fluid in the lungs.
• Aspiration — inhalation of stomach contents or other material into the lungs.
• Emphysema — chronic lung damage with enlarged air spaces.
• Pneumonia — lung infection.
• Pneumothorax — air in the chest cavity outside the lung.

Neurological terms

• Hypoxic-ischemic injury — brain damage from lack of oxygen and/or blood flow.
• Cerebral edema — brain swelling.
• Subdural hematoma — bleeding between the brain and its outer covering.
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage — bleeding into the space surrounding the brain.
• Contrecoup injury — injury on the side of the brain opposite the impact point.
• Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) — widespread microscopic injury to brain nerve fibers, typically from rapid acceleration-deceleration.
• Encephalopathy — generalized brain dysfunction.

For more detail on brain examination, see the neuropathology and CTE guide.

Toxicology terms

• Postmortem redistribution — the phenomenon where some drug levels change after death; an important nuance in interpreting results.
• Therapeutic level — a drug concentration consistent with normal medical use.
• Toxic level — a concentration high enough to cause harmful effects.
• Lethal level — a concentration consistent with causing death.
• Vitreous — the fluid inside the eye, often used for toxicology because it is more stable after death.
• Comprehensive drug screen — a broad panel that looks for many drugs at once.

For the full picture of what these tests measure, see understanding toxicology testing in autopsies and the advanced toxicology guide.

Histology and microscopy terms

• Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) — the standard tissue stain.
• Slide / block — preserved tissue prepared for microscopic review.
• Necrosis — tissue death.
• Inflammation (acute / chronic) — the body’s response to injury or infection.
• Fibrosis — scarring.
• Neoplasm — abnormal growth; can be benign or malignant.

Cause and manner of death terms

• Cause of death — the disease or injury that initiated the chain of events leading to death.
• Mechanism of death — the physiological derangement that produced death (e.g., cardiac arrhythmia, exsanguination).
• Manner of death — the categorical context: natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined.
• Pending — temporary classification while waiting on further testing.
• Contributory cause — a condition that contributed but was not the primary cause.

If your report uses any of these terms in a way that surprises you, the second-opinion options guide and the death certificate correction process explain the next steps.

Procedural terms

• Gross examination — what the pathologist observed with the unaided eye.
• Microscopic examination — findings under the microscope.
• External only — an examination limited to the body’s exterior, without dissection.
• Limited autopsy — a dissection restricted to specific organ systems, often for religious reasons.
• Postmortem CT (PMCT) / postmortem MRI (PMMR) — imaging-based examinations; see the virtual autopsy overview.
• Skeletal examination — a focused examination of bones, often performed by a forensic anthropologist.

What to do if you do not understand your report

A few options:

1. Request a meeting with the pathologist or coroner. Many offices will explain findings to a family in person or by phone. The general approach is in what to do after receiving autopsy results.
2. Hire a private forensic pathologist for a records review. This is far less expensive than a full second autopsy and can clarify confusing or contested findings. See the questions-to-ask guide and how to find a private autopsy provider.
3. Bring the report to your own physician. Especially helpful when the deceased had complex medical history, since your doctor may already understand the underlying conditions.

The bottom line

The vocabulary of an autopsy report is unfamiliar by design — it is professional language for professional readers. With this glossary in hand, the document becomes far more navigable, and the questions you bring to the pathologist or to a private reviewer will be much sharper.