02 Background (Autopsy - A Screenwriter's Guide)
Description
This article is from the Autopsy - A Screenwriter's Guide FAQ, by Edward O. Uthman uthman@neosoft.com with numerous contributions by others.
02 Background (Autopsy - A Screenwriter's Guide)
Most patients who die in the hospital do not undergo
autopsy. In recent years, there has been a decreased
interest in the autopsy in the medical community. When an
autopsy is requested, it is either by the attending
physician or the patient's family. The hospital's
pathologist performs those cases of the former type for the
educational benefit of the medical staff. Cases requested by
the family are best left to an independent pathologist hired
by the family. Autopsies performed by the hospital
pathologist do not result in cost to the patient's estate;
rather, the cost is absorbed by the hospital and the
pathologist. "Private" autopsies hired by the family
generally cost between US$1200 and US$2500.
After the patient is pronounced dead by a physician, the
body is wrapped in a sheet or shroud and transported to the
morgue, where it is held in a refrigeration unit until the
autopsy. Autopsies are rarely performed at night, but they
are typically performed between 8 am and 4 pm every day,
including weekends and holidays. In medium-size and large
hospitals, the autopsy is done on the premises in a autopsy
suite, which is either within or adjacent to the morgue.
Small hospitals that do not have autopsy suites may arrange
for autopsies to be done at a larger hospital. Yet other
hospitals out in the country can only offer autopsies by
having them done at funeral homes. Doing an autopsy at a
funeral home is one of the most dreaded things a pathologist
has to face, as a funeral home typically is not as well
equipped as a hospital autopsy suite.
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