Abstract
Introduction: Despite the potential benefits of post-mortem examination, rates are declining throughout the world, and reasons for the decline include the reluctance among doctors to request, relatives to give permission for, and pathologists to perform hospital post mortems (Kamal et al., 1997). The progressive and universal decline in hospital autopsy rates has been not just an absolute decline, but is seen especially in the elderly where there is a potentially higher discrepancy rate, and a correspondingly higher rate of undiagnozed but potentially treatable conditions (Lancet, 1982).
Although most people do not appear to mind what happens to their bodies after death, and the vast majority did not object to post mortems (Brown, 1984), in real life the lay perceptions of the purposes and value of autopsy are rather different, as no doubt some of us must have experienced at some time in our careers.
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