MEDICO-LEGAL AUTOPSY IN INDIA

Abstract

The word 'Autopsy' comes from the ancient 'Autopsia' derived from 'Autos' i.e. 'Oneself' and 'Opsis' i.e. 'Seeing for yourself.' In cases of sudden death where a doctor is unable to issue a death certificate or where death is suspected due to an accidental cause, an autopsy is sometimes performed. The definition of a medico-legal autopsy during the investigation of a sudden, suspicious, unnatural death is stated in Sections 174 and 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.).  The purpose of the post-mortem medical legal review is to determine the identity of a corpse, if it is not known; to determine the time before death and the cause of death; and whether the death was natural or involuntary and whether it was homicidal, suicide or accidental, whether it is unnatural. The topic of live birth and viability takes on significance in the case of newborn infants and should be decided. For "autopsy," the word "postmortem examination" is sometimes used as a simile. Essentially, it's not. A postmortem examination means just what it states that after death the body has been examined. It can mean and sometimes means that at a funeral home or in a morgue, the doctor merely looked at the corpse, fully dressed, or that he "viewed" the body. A full autopsy includes opening all the cavities of the body and all the trunk, stomach, and head organs. Here in this review paper we will discuss the meaning, benefit, and cases related to the medico-legal autopsy.