Forensic Pathologists And Autopsies

The main theme of “Final Cut” by Atul Gawande is that medicine is an inexact science and doctors are not always sure of themselves, even if they appear confident. Gawande’s main argument is simply stated: there has been a decline in the amount of autopsies performed in the medical field as a result of medical arrogance; over confident doctors believe they know the cause of death and do not want to perform autopsies. Gawande illustrates his argument by outlining the history of autopsy use in medicine, incorporating medical cases that he has experienced as a surgeon, and including statistics on autopsy usage. “Final Cut” is an outstanding profile on the decline of autopsy use in medicine. What makes “Final Cut” an enjoyable and informative article for all readers is its use of strategies associated with fiction such as the establishment of characters, balance between medical information and personal experience, and its use of active voice.

Death is an elementary word harboring many meanings. It is the feeling of being caught in the grip of inevitably. It is a personal realization that you too are mortal. It is the recognition that one's life is changed forever. The shiny image of a once bright world full of promise dulls. Unfortunately, every individual will experience the death of a loved one at least once in their life. No words can soothe the agony of losing a loved one. State legislatures are familiar with this grief and have created either a coroner system or a medical examiner system. A coroner system consists of a coroner whose responsible for identifying the decreased body, alerting the family members or anyone of close relation, signing the death certificate and

Have certain interrogatories popped in your head repeatedly? How do we know if someone hears us beyond the grave? Can they determine if I died of natural causes or did someone cut my life thread short? Never really  thought about it have you? Well, if you did or not the answer is yes people!!! There are people who are adamant about understanding what caused our life to take a quick or long turn to the big paradise in the sky or the land of milk and honey as most people heard and proffered. They are the superheroes, advocates for the dead, Forensic Pathologist is the name. They hold the most important jobs in the world, because like I said before they are insistant with knowing what or whom triggered your expiration date?  Ha just a little humor for my comedy readers, yes you may have heard or be familiar of this occupation on Law and Order, Law and Order Criminal Intent, Law and Order SVU, CSI, etc.

American colonists brought the coroner system from England intact. . Thus, the coroner’s office developed as a broad spectrum investigative agency concerned with a large proportion of all deaths. The United States ultimately adopted an act similar to the English law. It is reflected in current statutes that empower the medical examiner’s office and lay the jurisdictional foundation for the performance of medical

The career that I researched was forensic pathology. The job of a pathologist is to determine a person’s cause of death by examining tissues and fluids from the body. A forensic pathologist does this as well, but they are trained to examine people who died unexpectedly or violently and to recognize other things that a regular pathologist might not, such as recognizing something as intentional rather than accidental. They have to determine who the person is, the time of death, the manner of death, and if it was accidental, the instruments which caused the death.

Physicians assisting in suicide deaths are not productive in this area because some not trained in this field of expertise. Moll assert, doctors, are of little help. They have no training in how to discuss end-of-life issues with families and patients, so they avoid the conversation and call on other staff trained in this area. (88) Moll also points out, "people wants to be cared for, even if they do not want every possible procedure performed on them." (88) The best thing for people to do is discuss their end-of-life arrangements before major decision making is needed so the doctors, hospital staff and family members would not have to deal with the stress of this situation.

Death is inescapable. Praise God for the life he has blessed his children with. In Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ novel “On Death & Dying” she effectively explains the dying process in five steps: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The impact of her novel, if given the chance, on the medical field would be tremendous in the attempt of allowing individuals to die with their dignity while also remaining in peace throughout the majority of the process. In reality a funeral should not consist of mourning over what is lost. A funeral should be a celebration of the life the individual was blessed with and the impact they had on the people around them. Truly in the end, death is a blessing to those that believe and a frightening silence to the many that do

Timothy E. Quill and Bernard Sussman. "Physician Assisted Death." The Hastings Center. N/A, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

On the day we moved to America, my mother asked me, “Child, what do you want to become when you grow up?” The only answer that came to mind was becoming a doctor, probably because I had always been interested in science. The idea of saving or changing lives in anyway possible was a dream come true. Eleven years later, I realize that coming to America from Djibouti was the best thing in my life because I would never have had the opportunity or means that I now have to pursue my dreams. Become a forensic medical examiner combines two of my passions, science and police work. A forensic medical examiner not only helps the police find clues to solve crimes, but they also determine the cause of death and what weapon the killer uses. My path to becoming

The author also frequently questions the legality of the embalming process. This is in reference to the established law practices in regards to the after-death procedures:

An autopsy is an examination of the body after death. It usually consists of an external and an internal examination of the body. The external examination also documents identifying features such as scars, tattoos or other markings which may assist in the identification of the body. The internal examination looks at the internal organs to document any natural disease processes and/or injury .Its purpose is to learn the truth about the persons health during life and how the person really died, These situations include, violent deaths such as homicides, accidents, and suicides. Other categories are suspicious deaths, sudden and expected deaths, deaths in children and infants, prisoners, persons under the care of an institution,

When people hear the word “forensics” it evokes a mindful of graphic, vibrant images that bring about death and crime. It’s a trigger word that reminds people of gore, autopsies, DNA, death investigations, and bullet holes. This word means so much more than just those few examples of what forensics hold. Forensics is such a broad term- it is “scientific tests or techniques used in connection with the detection of a crime”, so with that given definition forensics could mean many different things. You could go from someone who works as the forensic computer technician who can hack into a sexual predator’s hard drive in the matter of seconds to a forensic anthropologist who studies bones in a legal case. All though there

There is a greater risk from the physicians diagnosing death over the objections of the family and the attending physician than not diagnosing death without having the medical staff agree.

Who knows more about life than one who deals in death? A mortician sees a side of life most of us want to forget, they see what kills people each and every day. One mortician, tired of seeing people die needlessly from avoidable maladies such as diabetes and hypertension, decided to do something about it.

Crime scene investigation and medical examiner television shows are always interesting and exciting to watch, but what happens when you make the contents of that television show your life? Often times, the one you see doing the investigating with not only the body at the scene, but also inspecting the body of the victim in their exam room is called the Forensic Pathologist. A Forensic Pathologist is often called to the scenes where a death has occurred so that they can legally gather information and observations so that they can proceed with the investigation. For example, they will try to find the time of death. It is very important that the forensic pathologist be contacted very early on in the investigation, due to the amount of evidence that needs to be overlooked. Forensic pathologists are educated as physicians, and are also licensed for the practice of medicine. Regional tests are given, which means that if you decide to move at any time after taking the regional test, you will be required to take it again if you move to a new state. Autopsies are a daily occurrence, and the goal of the forensic pathologist is to recreate the series of events that led up to the death of the victim.