The Hospital Autopsy. 2nd Edition

The autopsy remains a mainstay of modern hospital practice and has a valuable role in clinical audit and research. Mastery of autopsy techniques is an essential part of postgraduate training in Anatomical and Surgical Pathology. There are as many methods of performing an autopsy as there are pathologists performing them, offering a bewildering array of techniques to the trainee pathologist. The Hospital Autopsy, 2nd Edition presents a clear and systematic approach to the techniques employed in safe hospital autopsy practice. Before undertaking such a procedure, the pathologist must ensure that he or she has legal authority to do so, and must be able to do so in a manner which minimizes health and safety risks to themselves and to others. Consequently, issues of consent, health and safety and mortuary design are discussed before the external examination, evisceration, dissection of the internal organs and the production of an autopsy report. All pathologists undertaking autopsy examinations should also be familiar with, and competent in the techniques required for the reconstruction of the body, and these too are discussed in detail. Many autopsies performed within the hospital setting require the use of specialist techniques. These range from additional dissection techniques through to the collection of appropriate samples of specimens for microbiological, biochemical, toxicological, haematological or immunological analysis. The autopsy examination of neonates and children, maternal deaths and patients with suspected neuropathology require additional expertise. These are discussed in separate chapters.