This article was co-authored by Chris M. Matsko, MD. Dr. Chris M. Matsko is a retired physician based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With over 25 years of medical research experience, Dr. Matsko was awarded the Pittsburgh Cornell University Leadership Award for Excellence. He holds a BS in Nutritional Science from Cornell University and an MD from the Temple University School of Medicine in 2007. Dr. Matsko earned a Research Writing Certification from the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) in 2016 and a Medical Writing & Editing Certification from the University of Chicago in 2017.
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An autopsy is a post mortem medical procedure performed by a qualified pathologist. Most autopsies take two to four hours and will not interfere with having the body on view at the funeral. Autopsy information can be important to next of kin to offer closure, to aid in legal matters, to offer insight on genetic conditions that might affect other family members, or to help explain an unexpected death. Different states have varying privacy laws on who can obtain autopsy reports and results.