autopsy

noun

au·​top·​sy ˈȯ-ˌtäp-sē 

ˈȯ-təp-

plural autopsies

1

: an examination of a body after death to determine the cause of death or the character and extent of changes produced by disease

called also necropsy

2

: a critical examination, evaluation, or assessment of someone or something past

autopsy transitive verb

Synonyms

• necropsy
• postmortem
• postmortem examination

Examples of autopsy in a Sentence

The coroner performed an autopsy on the murder victim's body.

the autopsy revealed an advanced stage of cancer

Recent Examples on the Web

An autopsy determined that the body was that of a White woman, believed to be between 30 and 40 years old, who had died by drowning. —Kerry Breen, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2024

Adamo also said an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday, according to PennLive.com. —Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024

Researchers, observers and stranding coordinators across North America began working together — alerting one another to strandings; sending crews to document and collect tissue samples; and performing necropsies (the animal form of an autopsy). —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024

An autopsy determined that Eric Richins died from fentanyl intoxication, and that the level of fentanyl in his blood was approximately five times a lethal dosage, according to the charging document. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2024

Nashville police have released preliminary findings in the autopsy of Riley Strain, and say his death appears accidental. —Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024

Multi-state manhunt underway:Squatters accused of killing woman inside NYC apartment on run Autopsy will determine how Riley Strain died An autopsy is pending by the Davidson County Medical Examiner's Office to determine Strain's cause and manner of death, police said. —USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024

For years, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, which conducts autopsies on service members and others who die under federal jurisdiction, lacked consistent procedures for handling and storing organs removed during autopsies, the Pentagon’s Inspector General found. —Susan Carroll, NBC News, 22 Mar. 2024

An autopsy performed the next day ruled her death an accident, according the medical examiner's office. —Adrienne Davis, Journal Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "act of seeing with one's own eyes, direct observation," borrowed from New Latin autopsia, borrowed from Greek autopsía, from aut- aut- + -opsia, later variant of -opsis "act of seeing, sight" — more at optic entry 1

Note: Use of the word in English to refer specifically to the examination of a corpse is apparently not known before the nineteenth century. The Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, notes French autopsie in the sense "post-mortem examination" from "1671 or earlier," but gives no source for an attestation. In French the phrase autopsie cadavérique is fairly common after 1800, but does not seem to have been used earlier. In Latin medical texts of the eighteenth century, the phrase autopsia cadaverum "autopsy of cadavers" (with variants) can be found in a number of texts, as the Synopsis universae praxeos medicae, pars prima (Amsterdam, 1765) of the French physician Joseph Lieutaud.

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

autopsy

noun

au·​top·​sy ˈȯ-ˌtäp-sē 

ˈȯt-əp-

plural autopsies

: an examination of a dead body especially to find out the cause of death

autopsy verb

Etymology

from Greek autopsia "the act of seeing with one's own eyes," from aut- "self" and opsis "sight," from opsesthai "to be going to see" — related to optic

Medical Definition

autopsy

1 of 2 noun

au·​top·​sy ˈȯ-ˌtäp-sē  ˈȯt-əp- 

plural autopsies

: an examination of the body after death usually with such dissection as will expose the vital organs for determining the cause of death or the character and extent of changes produced by disease

called also necropsy, postmortem, postmortem examination

autopsy

2 of 2 transitive verb

autopsied; autopsying

: to perform an autopsy on

Legal Definition

autopsy

noun

au·​top·​sy ˈȯ-ˌtäp-sē, -təp- 

plural autopsies

: an examination of a body after death usually involving dissection especially to determine the cause of death

called also post mortem, post mortem examination

autopsy transitive verb