Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works brain Stuff, It's Christian Sager, and I have a deeply concerning question for you today. What happens when I die? And I don't mean like will I go to heaven? Or who gets all of my comic books? No, I want to know what someone's going to do with my dead body when it's on a slab of cold steel. How does an autopsy work? Well? First of all, a word of
warning for our listeners. If you're squeamish, you might want to listen to I don't Know a less gross episode of brain Stuff, like wise bird Poop White or how do bedbugs work? Okay, are you ready? Now? Let's start by clarifying that an autopsy is a medical examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death, and
there's two types, forensic and clinical. Clinical ones are performed for research, medical training, or at the request of the deceased family, and forensic autopsies are the ones you're used to seeing on TV, like when Agent Scully carves into a corpse because the truth is in there. This is often for legal reasons, potentially as evidence in criminal or civil court cases. While the general procedure is similar. For our purposes, let's stick to forensic autopsies. All legally investigated
deaths fall into five categories natural accident, homicide, suicide, and undetermined. Yeah, that last one may seem a little wishy washy, but sometimes the answers aren't that clear for the attending medical examiner or coroner, and this is an important distinction. Forensic pathologists are physicians trained to perform autopsies. Here in the United States, most local governments mandate that an appointed pathologist called a medical examiner, perform an autopsy, but not all.
In some counties they use corners instead of medical examiners, and a corner doesn't necessary really have to have medical training. Instead, they're elected to their position, and they can be anyone. They could be farmers, snake handlers, even podcast hosts, I guess. But if a non medical corner ever needs assistance, the state usually provides them with a medical examiner. When that examiner finally gets ahold of your cold body, here's what
they're gonna do to it. First, they gather information on you, your death, and your medical records. Then they record an external exam of your appearance. They start by photographing you inside a body bag, noting your clothing and its position. Before stripping you naked, they try to establish your identity, noting ethnicity, gender, age, and hair and eye color. Then they collect samples of hair, fingernails, and any foreign objects found on your surface. Sometimes they use UV radiation or
X rays to find further evidence. Once the external exam is done, they clean your body, weigh it, and measure it On the table. They place a rubber body block under your back to make your chest protrude forward so the arms and neck fall back. This makes it easier for the cutting. For a complete internal exam, they start with the chest, making a Y shaped incision. Following this, they peel back your skin, muscle and soft tissue with a scalpel, pull the chest flap over your face and
expose your rib cage and neck muscles. Your rib cage is then removed, followed by your larynx, esophagus, arteries, and ligaments. By severing a few attachments to your spinal cord, bladder, and rectum, the examiner can remove the rest of your organs as an entire set. Your organs are each examined and weighed with sample slices taken of their tissue if necessary. These organs are stored in formulin. The examiner will also take your urine, blood, bile, and the vitreous gel from
your eyes for further testing. Depending on how you died, They probably won't cut open your arms, hands, legs, or your face, but don't think your head is off the hook just yet. If they need a peek inside your noggin, the examiner will move the rubber block under your neck like a pillow. Then they will make a cut from behind one ear, across your forehead, over to the other ear,
and around the back. Once this is divided, they can remove your scalp from your skull in two flaps, folding one over your face and the other over the back of your neck. Then outcomes the electric saw to pop the top of your skull off like a cap and expose your brain. This is severed from your spinal cord and tentorum and then lifted out Frankenstein style. Just like
your other organs, it's weighed and examined. Well, what happens to all of these organs sitting outside of your body anyways, Well, depending on the style of funeral, they're either put back in or they're incinerated either way, the butterfly chest flaps are closed, the spell cap is placed back on your head, and everything is sewn up nice and tidy with a baseball stitch. Though, even after your body goes off to
the funeral home, a pathologists work is never done. It takes days to get tissue and blood samples tested, and at least two weeks for brain samples. Then it takes hours more to write up a detailed report for the official record. Now keep in mind that this is a brief overview of the autopsy process. We didn't even get into examining wounds, determining the time of death, or what tools of the trade are used to crack you open.
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