necropsy

noun nec·rop·sy \ ˈne-ˌkräp-sē \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

Examples: necropsy in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of necropsy

plural necropsies

: autopsy 1; especially : an autopsy performed on an animal

See necropsy defined for kids

Examples of necropsy in a Sentence

a necropsy failed to definitively establish a cause of death

Recent Examples of necropsy from the Web

The necropsy showed the puppy had been subjected to repeated blunt force and died as a result of neglect and abuse, Oggerino and Cheatham said.

— kimberly fornek, chicagotribune.com, "Puppy's Willowbrook grave to be dedicated as a memorial to abused animals," 5 June 2018
The necropsy also showed that the canine experienced stress shortly before his death.

— kelli bender, PEOPLE.com, "Family of Kokito, French Bulldog that Died in United Overhead Bin, Reaches Settlement with Airline," 25 May 2018
Its carcass was sent to Washington State University for necropsy.

— erik lacitis, The Seattle Times, "911 calls on cougar attack near Snoqualmie: Dropped calls and a ‘Help!’," 24 May 2018
According to Smith, a necropsy is performed by the company’s veterinarians who send all of their reports to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for review.

— bayan wang, azcentral, "Activists pursue more information on dolphin's cause of death," 24 May 2018
Washington State University is performing a necropsy on the animal to determine if disease, injury, or starvation could have been a factor in the mountain lion’s behavior.

— wes siler, Outside Online, "What Really Caused Washington’s Cougar Attack?," 23 May 2018
The carcass has since been sent to a state lab for a necropsy and analysis.

— john r. ellement, BostonGlobe.com, "Bicyclist who died in cougar attack had strong ties to Boston," 22 May 2018
Fish and wildlife experts euthanized the animal, and a necropsy will be performed to try to determine what provoked the attack, including any disease.

— eric levenson, CNN, "Cougars almost never attack humans. But here are possible reasons this one did.," 22 May 2018
Myers said the carcass of the cougar was transported Sunday to Washington State University in Pullman, where a veterinarian will conduct a brain necropsy to determine if the cougar was sick.

— christine willmsen, The Seattle Times, "Two attacked by cougar identified; wildlife officials say predator was ‘emaciated’," 22 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'necropsy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Human autopsies are generally performed either to determine the cause of death or to observe the deadly effects of a disease for research or education purposes. Autopsies may be necessary when tracking an epidemic; they're also performed to discover whether a death might actually have resulted from murder, and if so, what evidence it might reveal that could help catch the murderer. Animal necropsies are actually more common than human autopsies, since a farmer with livestock is always concerned that whatever killed one animal not pose a threat to the others.