Pathology is the branch of medicine associated with the study of structural changes caused by disease or injury.
Most forensic pathologists are experts in both branches.
To become a forensic pathologist, one must spend at least two years as an intern after graduation from medical school. An additional year of study is expected to prepare for passing the board exam with the American Board of Pathology. Under the coroner system, the coroner is usually an elected official and need not even be a medical doctor, although they should have had at least some medical training. Medical examiners operate out of centralized offices at the state capital, or else they are part of an inter-county, regional arrangement. The purpose of an autopsy is to observe and make a permanent legal record as soon as possible of the gross and minute anatomical peculiarities of a recently discovered dead body.