post mortem

1 of 2

adjective

post mor·​tem

ˌpōst-ˈmȯr-təm

: done, occurring, or collected after death

post mortem

2 of 2

noun

: autopsy

Did you know?

Post mortem is Latin for "after death". In English, postmortem refers to an examination, investigation, or process that takes place after death. A postmortem examination of a body (often simply called a postmortem) is often needed to determine the time and cause of death; the stiffening called rigor mortis is one postmortem change that doctors look at to determine when death occurred. Today we've come to use postmortem to refer to any examination or discussion that takes place after an event.