Changes

==Origin==

==Origin==

[[Greek]] ''autopsia'' [[act]] of seeing with one's own eyes, from ''aut''- + ''opsis'' [[sight]], appearance

[[Greek]] ''autopsia'' [[act]] of seeing with one's own eyes, from ''aut''- + ''opsis'' [[sight]], appearance

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century 1678]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century 1678]

The term "autopsy" derives from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek Ancient Greek] ''autopsia'', "to see for oneself", derived from αυτος (autos, "oneself") and όψις (opsis, "eye").  

The term "autopsy" derives from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek Ancient Greek] ''autopsia'', "to see for oneself", derived from αυτος (autos, "oneself") and όψις (opsis, "eye").  

==Definitions==

==Definitions==

*1: an [[examination]] of a [[body]] after [[death]] to determine the [[cause]] of death or the [[character]] and extent of changes produced by [[disease]] —called also necropsy

*1: an [[examination]] of a [[body]] after [[death]] to determine the [[cause]] of death or the [[character]] and extent of changes produced by [[disease]] —called also necropsy

*2: a critical examination, [[evaluation]], or assessment of someone or something [[past]]

*2: a critical examination, [[evaluation]], or assessment of someone or something [[past]]

==Description==

==Description==

An '''autopsy'''—also known as a ''post-mortem examination'', ''necropsy'' (particularly as to non-human bodies), ''autopsia'' ''cadaverum'', or ''obduction''—is a highly specialized [[surgical]] procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_body corpse] to determine the cause and [[manner]] of [[death]] and to evaluate any [[disease]] or [[injury]] that may be present. It is usually performed by a specialized medical doctor called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathology pathologist].

An '''autopsy'''—also known as a ''post-mortem examination'', ''necropsy'' (particularly as to non-human bodies), ''autopsia'' ''cadaverum'', or ''obduction''—is a highly specialized [[surgical]] procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_body corpse] to determine the cause and [[manner]] of [[death]] and to evaluate any [[disease]] or [[injury]] that may be present. It is usually performed by a specialized medical doctor called a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathology pathologist].

Autopsies are performed for either [[legal]] or [[medical]] purposes. For example, a forensic autopsy is carried out when the cause of death may be a [[criminal]] matter, while a clinical or [[academic]] autopsy is performed to find the [[medical]] cause of death and is used in cases of [[unknown]] or uncertain death, or for [[research]] purposes. Autopsies can be further classified into cases where external examination suffices, and those where the body is [[dissected]] and internal examination is conducted. Permission from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_of_kin next of kin] may be required for internal autopsy in some cases. Once an internal autopsy is complete the body is reconstituted by sewing it back together.  

Autopsies are performed for either [[legal]] or [[medical]] purposes. For example, a forensic autopsy is carried out when the cause of death may be a [[criminal]] matter, while a clinical or [[academic]] autopsy is performed to find the [[medical]] cause of death and is used in cases of [[unknown]] or uncertain death, or for [[research]] purposes. Autopsies can be further classified into cases where external examination suffices, and those where the body is [[dissected]] and internal examination is conducted. Permission from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_of_kin next of kin] may be required for internal autopsy in some cases. Once an internal autopsy is complete the body is reconstituted by sewing it back together.  

Around 3000 BC [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt ancient Egyptians] were one of the first civilizations to [[practice]] the removal and examination of the internal organs of humans in the religious practice of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy mummification].

Around 3000 BC [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt ancient Egyptians] were one of the first civilizations to [[practice]] the removal and examination of the internal organs of humans in the religious practice of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy mummification].

Autopsies that opened the [[body]] to determine the [[cause]] of death were attested at least in the early third millennium BC, although they were opposed in many [[ancient]] societies where it was believed that the outward disfigurement of dead persons prevented them from entering the [[afterlife]] (as with the Egyptians, who removed the organs through tiny slits in the body). Notable Greek autopsists were [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasistratus Erasistratus] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herophilus_of_Chalcedon Herophilus of Chalcedon], who lived in 3rd century BC Alexandria, but in general, autopsies were rare in ancient Greece. In 44 BC, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar Julius Caesar] was the subject of an official autopsy after his [[murder]] by rival senators, the [[physician]]'s report noting that the second stab wound Caesar received was the fatal one. By around 150 BC, ancient Roman [[legal]] practice had established clear parameters for autopsies.

Autopsies that opened the [[body]] to determine the [[cause]] of death were attested at least in the early third millennium BC, although they were opposed in many [[ancient]] societies where it was believed that the outward disfigurement of dead persons prevented them from entering the [[afterlife]] (as with the Egyptians, who removed the organs through tiny slits in the body). Notable Greek autopsists were [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasistratus Erasistratus] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herophilus_of_Chalcedon Herophilus of Chalcedon], who lived in 3rd century BC Alexandria, but in general, autopsies were rare in ancient Greece. In 44 BC, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar Julius Caesar] was the subject of an official autopsy after his [[murder]] by rival senators, the [[physician]]'s report noting that the second stab wound Caesar received was the fatal one. By around 150 BC, ancient Roman [[legal]] practice had established clear parameters for autopsies.

The [[dissection]] of human remains for [[medical]] reasons continued to be [[practiced]] irregularly after the Romans, for instance by the Arab physicians [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Zuhr Avenzoar] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Nafis Ibn al-Nafis], but the [[modern]] autopsy process derives from the anatomists of the [[Renaissance]]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Morgagni Giovanni Morgagni] (1682–1771), celebrated as the father of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_pathology anatomical pathology], wrote the first exhaustive work on pathology, De Sedibus et Causis Morborum per Anatomen Indagatis (The Seats and Causes of Diseases Investigated by Anatomy, 1769).

The [[dissection]] of human remains for [[medical]] reasons continued to be [[practiced]] irregularly after the Romans, for instance by the Arab physicians [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Zuhr Avenzoar] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Nafis Ibn al-Nafis], but the [[modern]] autopsy process derives from the anatomists of the [[Renaissance]]. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Morgagni Giovanni Morgagni] (1682–1771), celebrated as the father of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_pathology anatomical pathology], wrote the first exhaustive work on pathology, De Sedibus et Causis Morborum per Anatomen Indagatis (The Seats and Causes of Diseases Investigated by Anatomy, 1769).

The great 19th-century medical researcher [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Virchow Rudolf Virchow], in response to a lack of [[standardization]] of autopsy procedures, established and published specific autopsy [[protocols]] (one such protocol still bears his name).[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopsy]

The great 19th-century medical researcher [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Virchow Rudolf Virchow], in response to a lack of [[standardization]] of autopsy procedures, established and published specific autopsy [[protocols]] (one such protocol still bears his name).[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopsy]

[[Category: Health]]

[[Category: Health]]