Autopsy
The term Autopsy have other synonyms that are commonly used as well, like necropsy, postmortem examination, or postmortem. It refers to the dissection and examination of a dead body and its organs and different structures. An autopsy is commonly performed to determine the cause of death, however, it is also performed by medical practitioners to observe and study about the the effects of disease, and to find out and establish the evolution and mechanisms of pathological processes. The word autopsy is derived from the Greek autopsia, which indicates to the “the act of seeing for oneself.”
When we look at the history, we find out that first real dissections for the purpose of study of a specific disease were carried out about 300 BCE by the Alexandrian physicians Erasistratus and Herophilus. However, it was the Greek physician Galen of Pergamum and it was in the late 2nd century CE to first correlate the patient’s symptoms that is their complaints and signs o what can be seen and felt with what was detected upon examining the parts that were affected of deceased.