as in autopsy
examination of a dead body especially to find out the cause of death
a coroner performed the postmortem examination with painstaking thoroughness
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Recent Examples of postmortem examination
His remains were transported to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, where family members confirmed his identity following a postmortem examination.
—
Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
While the postmortem examination took two hours to complete, Francisco decided to make a public statement about Elvis Presley‘s cause of death midway through the process without the consent of his fellow pathologists.
—Jenzia Burgos, StyleCaster, 9 Oct. 2024
Detective Superintendent Mike Brown of Suffolk Police said during a coroner's inquest in Ipswich on Friday, Oct. 4, that the 59-year-old was determined to have drowned following a postmortem examination, the BBC and The Guardian report.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024
The victims, including American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, were killed on the evening of Aug. 29 in Rafah’s Tal Al Sultan neighborhood, the Israel Defense Forces said, citing postmortem examinations of the bodies.
—Raf Sanchez, NBC News, 10 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for postmortem examination
Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
While the postmortem examination took two hours to complete, Francisco decided to make a public statement about Elvis Presley‘s cause of death midway through the process without the consent of his fellow pathologists.
—Jenzia Burgos, StyleCaster, 9 Oct. 2024
Detective Superintendent Mike Brown of Suffolk Police said during a coroner's inquest in Ipswich on Friday, Oct. 4, that the 59-year-old was determined to have drowned following a postmortem examination, the BBC and The Guardian report.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024
The victims, including American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, were killed on the evening of Aug. 29 in Rafah’s Tal Al Sultan neighborhood, the Israel Defense Forces said, citing postmortem examinations of the bodies.
—Raf Sanchez, NBC News, 10 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for postmortem examination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for postmortem examination
autopsy
Noun
-
Wilkie died at his Mooresville home three days later of sepsis, an autopsy found.—
Amber Gaudet
Updated February 20,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Feb. 2026
-
An autopsy found that Deranque suffered a fractured skull and fatal brain injuries, according to Lyon's prosecutor, Thierry Dran.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Postmortem examination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/postmortem%20examination. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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