POST-MORTEM PROCEDURES - AN ILLUSTRATED TEXTBOOK

• NCJ Number: 63793
• Author(s): G A GRESHAM; A F TURNER
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 160 pages
• Corporate Author: Wolfe Medical Publishers, Ltd
• Sale Source: Year Book Medical Publishers
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

POST-MORTEM PROCEDURES ARE DISCUSSED AND ILLUSTRATED; THE BOOK FOCUSES ON THE TECHNICIAN'S ROLE, MODERN AUTOPSY PRACTICES, PATHOLOGICAL ASPECTS, AND CONCERNS OF THE DECEASED'S FAMILY.

Abstract

THE JOB OF THE PATHOLOGIST IS NOT TO CONFIRM CURRENT ERRORS OF CLINICAL MEDICINE BUT RATHER TO ESTABLISH THE TRUTH. A PROPERLY CONDUCTED AUTOPSY, AIDED BY MODERN METHODS OF MICROSCOPY, MICROBIOLOGY, AND CLINICAL CHEMISTRY, FULFILLS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE INVESTIGATION OF DISEASE PROCESSES AND IN CRIME DETECTION. TOPICS CONSIDERED HEREIN INCLUDE MODES OF DEATH, THE BODY IN THE MORTUARY, THE POST-MORTEM ROOM, THE POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION, DEALING WITH SPECIAL CASES, SPECIAL TECHNIQUES, RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BODY, THE CORONER AND HIS OFFICE, CERTIFICATES OF DEATH, AND THE MORBID ANATOMY TECHNICIAN. ON RECEIPT OF A CORONER'S CASE, THE PRIMARY CONCERN IS TO PRESERVE EXTERNAL FEATURES AND TO AVOID DISTURBANCE OF CLOTHING. ALL CORPSES SHOULD BE REGARDED AS POTENTIAL SOURCES OF INFECTION; TUBERCULOSIS, HEPATITIS, AND COCCAL INFECTIONS ARE PARTICULAR HAZARDS. SPECIAL RELIGIOUS PRACTICES OF THE DECEASED MUST BE OBSERVED. ALL DETAILS SHOULD BE ENTERED INTO THE MORTUARY REGISTER WHEN A BODY IS RECEIVED. PROPERTY SHOULD BE RECORDED AND IDENTITY LABELS FIXED TO THE BODY, SHROUD, AND MORTUARY COMPARTMENT. THE MORTUARY TECHNICIAN MUST BE FAMILIAR WITH DETAILS OF LIGHTING, VENTILATION, DRAINAGE, AND AUTOCLAVES IN THE POST-MORTEM ROOM. THE TECHNICIAN PREPARES THE BODY FOR DISSECTION AND ASSISTS THE PATHOLOGIST. IN CASES WHERE THE CAUSE OF DEATH IS IN DOUBT, THE TECHNICIAN SHOULD NOT ALLOW DISTURBANCE OF THE BODY FOR PURPOSES OF IDENTIFICATION WITHOUT PRIOR CONSULTATION WITH THE CORONER'S OFFICE AND THE PATHOLOGIST. THE TECHNICIAN SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE SWABS OF INFECTED ORGANS, COMPLETE A GRAM'S STAIN, AND RECONSTRUCT THE BODY (THE LAST IS THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE TECHNICIAN). THE TECHNICIAN SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH THE ROLE OF THE CORONER AND SHOULD MAINTAIN CLOSE LIAISON WITH HIM. CREMATION CERTIFICATES AND CERTIFICATES OF FREEDOM FROM INFECTION ARE THOSE USUALLY HANDLED BY THE TECHNICIAN. APPENDIXES, A GLOSSARY, SUGGESTED READING, NUMEROUS PHOTOGRAPHS, AND AN INDEX ARE PROVIDED. (LWM)