An Autopsy Twist: Natural Hidden Beneath Unnatural

Abstract

There is a general belief that most cases sent for autopsy are all sinister unnatural deaths. This,  along with overburdened work, constrains of time, disinclination towards tedious detailed autopsies, has  led to heavy reliance on the garbled history given by the relatives, friends or police personnel  accompanying the body. A happily married, well off, young farmer had gone to the market, where he  drank tea, and within minutes of doing so, collapsed and died.  He was rushed to Sri Aurobindo hospital where he was declared dead and sent for autopsy. The  cause of death, from the stomach and intestinal findings and corroborating it with the history of alleged  consumption of some unknown substance with tea was thought to be poisoning but examination of the  heart suggested hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which on histopathology was concluded as a case of  myocardial infarction. Forensic experts, many times get biased by the history given by attendants or  police, which may lead to misrepresentation and hence inevitably causes mistake in the form of  mislabeled opinion of cause of death as unnatural deaths. This calls for a meticulous autopsy supported  by ancillary investigations.