Words / B2

ORT-ops-ee/ˈɔːtɒpsi/

An autopsy is a medical examination of a dead body to find the cause of death: carry out an autopsy; autopsy report. Post-mortem is the usual British twin; inquest is the legal inquiry; dissection is broader. Date the autopsy in the coroner’s notes, then the cause if given. Mix-up: autopsy vs autocracy; audio; do not write autopsy for a living patient’s scan.

Meaning

A medical examination of a dead body to find the cause of death.

Examples

• “Date the autopsy in the coroner’s notes, then the cause if given, the citizenship paper said.”
• “A psychological autopsy featured in the methods paper, which is the reconstructive sense — still name the source files.”

Good to know

an autopsy; carry out / perform an autopsy; autopsy report. UK twin: post-mortem. Related: inquest / coroner. Trap: a scan of a living patient. Citizenship, biology, and news. A post-mortem examination — date the notes and quote the cause if given.

Near in meaning

post-mortem, PM, necropsy

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