Autopsies for natural deaths or deaths occurring among patients under the care of a physician are usually performed at the hospital where the death occurred and with the permission of the decedent's next of kin. If the death is sudden, unexpected, or due to external causes, local statutes may require an autopsy. This autopsy is either requested by a coroner or performed by a medical examiner, depending upon the local medicolegal system. Since deaths due to other than natural causes require medicolegal investigation in most states, the number of autopsies performed was examined by type of medicolegal jurisdiction in the state. States with mixed systems had higher autopsy frequencies for deaths due to unintentional injuries and poisoning, suicide, and undetermined intent than did states with coroners.
Death certificates are the principal source of mortality statistics for the United States.
State and local laws vary, but medical examiners and coroners typically have the legal authority to order autopsies for traumatic, sudden, or unexpected deaths. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables. Contact GPO for current prices.