Why do autopsies?

Although the primary reason to perform an autopsy is to determine the cause of death, there are other benefits to individual families, to the practice of medicine, and to the community at large. The benefits include:

allaying a family's fears about what they could have done to prevent the death
providing family members information about potential genetic diseases that may have implications for them
medical education, training and research leading to improved health care
providing information about preventable causes of disease and accident and other public health hazards

In addition, there are the forensic benefits of investigation of homicide, suspected homicide, other unexplained or suspicious deaths, and deaths apparently due to accident or injury.

Studies have shown that in many cases even when the cause of death seemed clear, the person in fact had medical conditions that were not apparent during their life.

Who does an autopsy?

Forensic pathologists work in a mortuary and they are the ones who carry out detailed external and internal examinations of the body.