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"Autopsy 101." // Things To Know- Autopsy //. FrontLine P.B.S., 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Aug. 2012. . __**Facts:**__
 * Autopsies can enhance our understanding of diseases and how we die, and contribute critical medical knowledge
 * ====The rate of autopsies -- the gold standard of death investigations -- has plummeted over the decades.====
 * Forensic pathologists have identified public health emergencies, such as the anthrax terrorist attacks or other lethal infection diseases, as well as public health hazards, such defective cribs that kill babies.
 * ====Our investigation found that an increasing number of the 2.5 million Americans who die each year go to the grave without being examined at all.====
 * Autopsies can help family members learn whether a relative died from an undiagnosed or misdiagnosed illness or disease that may be hereditary.
 * In certain cases, such as when there is suspicion of foul play, or when a death may be the result of an infectious or contagious disease with dire public health consequences, a medical examiner or coroner can legally order an autopsy without the permission of next of kin or other legally designated party.
 * if an autopsy determines a death to be the result of a work or environmental hazard, it may lead to compensation for family
 * Autopsies are not covered under Medicare, Medicaid or most insurance plans, though some hospitals -- teaching hospitals in particular -- do not charge for autopsies of individuals who passed away in the facility.
 * Most of us think of autopsies in relation to homicide cases, but there are other ways in which autopsies can provide evidence for legal action
 * Because timeliness is critical, if you suspect foul play in the first autopsy, do not trust the first medical examiner or would like a second opinion for quality assurance, you must make the choice of whether or not to have a second autopsy performed fairly quickly after the first autopsy, and usually without its full results.
 * a person may have specified his or her desire for an autopsy, perhaps in conversation or by signing a personal directive
 * Additionally, certain tissues can be retained by the pathologist at the time of the first autopsy and may not be available for examination.
 * 40 percent of autopsies performed in the U.S. reveal disease states previously unknown to physicians, in large part because the autopsy employs techniques that cannot be used on the living.
 * Autopsies usually take two to four hours to perform. Preliminary results can be released within 24 hours, but the full results of an autopsy may take up to six weeks to prepare.
 * If an autopsy reveals evidence of medical malpractice, it may be the grounds for a lawsuit.