Autopsies have been conducted for centuries with the key intent to gain knowledge and insight into the anatomy and physiology of the human body, as well as to ascertain cause of death.
The term, anatomy, comes from the Greek word, autopsia, which is defined as ‘to see with one’s own eyes’.1 Throughout the years, practitioners and legislators have tried to create protocols to determine when and if an autopsy is necessary through the means of informed consent. However, there are many shades of grey, both ethically and legally. Although these boundaries aren’t always clear, I believe it’s a practitioner’s ethical and legal duty to fully disclose the motivation behind requesting an autopsy to the senior next of kin, no matter how difficult the
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Interestingly, decisions in medical malpractice cases has shown that such proceedings were not instituted on the basis of autopsy findings, but rather on standard of care issues.”1
Beneficence is a very important principle, especially when communicating with bereaved family members. Compassion and kindness are especially merited during this time. The purpose of an autopsy should be to do good and help others, either by figuring out the cause of death, providing information to family members, or using it as a teaching method. In any case, the person making the decision to give consent should be informed of the reasoning behind the request and what or whom the benefit is for. No information should be withheld. For the scenario, this would benefit
4 the practitioner, but also the family because it would give them piece of mind and a full disclosure to decide. This would be an example of normative ethics, which attempts to determine what moral standards should be followed so that human behavior and conduct may be morally
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In Judaism, autopsies are condoned only when there are indications that the information will be of value to saving the life of another individual. These indications include experimental drugs, surgical procedures, contagious diseases, genetic disorders, or for forensic purposes. The teaching of Islam doesn’t allow for voluntary autopsy because it’s considered a desecration of a human person who was associated with the body; this can only be overturned if some law would be broken or public health endangered.”6
In conclusion, autopsies are not a simple matter. There are many factors and situations that influence motives for requesting an autopsy, as well as receiving informed consent. Although kin may not always be swayed due to cultural or religious beliefs, it’s still important to be upfront and honest about the motivation behind requesting an autopsy. “Bereaved families have the right to clear, factual, and sensitive communication from a skilled professional. The [practitioner’s] activity must rely on strong, clear, high moral values and ethical principles and his professional independence is in fact the warrant for respecting the deceased human
There are two things in life that are inevitable: death and taxes. The coroner system was founded upon both of those undeniable facts of life. The kings of the middle ages initially created the position of a coroner to investigate the suspicious deaths of people and also to collect the death tax on the deceased’s estate. In the United States, we have two positions that work in the field of death investigating, obviously the coroner and the medical examiner. These positions are widely different in how they run.
...t’s family should be able decide for the patient whether or not prolonging their life is moral.
There are many convincing and compelling arguments for and against Physician Assisted Suicide. There are numerous different aspects of this issue, including religious, legal and ethical issues. However, for the purpose of this paper, I will examine the ethical concerns of both sides. There are strong pro and con arguments regarding this, and I will make a case for both. It is definitely an issue that has been debated for years and will continue to be debated in years to come.
“In most human society's death is an extremely important cultural and social phenomenon, sometimes more important than birth” (Ohnuki-Tierney, Angrosino, & Daar et al. 1994). In the United States of America, when a body dies it is cherished, mourned over, and given respect by the ones that knew the person. It is sent to the morgue and from there the family decides how the body should be buried or cremated based on...
Wound specimen vary from crime scene to crime scene such as; gunshot wound, stab wounds, defense wounds, rape wounds, blows from blunt objects, poisoning, strangulation, hanging, burns, explosions, electrocution, lightning, burning, hanging, and smothering, just to name a few. There are numerous classifications of wounds, most of which can let qualified investigators know more about the manner of death. Forensic pathologists' have the role in investigating medical examination of the body. They also assist investigation by relating the evidence to the autopsy findings. They will examine the wound, and tell if it was inflicted the wound and what instrument caused it. Pretty much all of the evidence that guide the examiner to consummate that the death was murder also allows for it to be sustainable evidence for the investigation and prosecuting the case; so that pathologists and investigators work closely together (Orthman-Hess, 2013).
When a person's body decomposes after death, it goes through a series of stages involving different chemical changes that cause it to change its appareance. Observing these changes can help forensic scientists determine the post-mortem interval (or time since death), which is very important when it comes to investigating unnatural deaths.
This relates to ethical issues as it is difficult to decide when confidential information should be shared, as described in my ethical dilemma above.
8. What does the ethics opinion say about disclosure by recipients of authorized data to third parties?
Charlotte’s parents thought otherwise, the Ethics Advisory Committee had to get involved. The debate surrounded if the doctors were in the right to control the life of someone who were incapable of deciding themselves, or is it the parents right. The Ethics Advisory Committee, stated that the parents were superior to those of the hospital and the hospital should conduct with less painful test. Charlotte’s parents wanted the doctors to continue testing until it was determined that her life diffidently had no chance of remaining. Because, of Charlotte’s parents’ desires unfortunately caused Charlotte to die a painful death without her parents. If the patient is unable to speak for their selves, the family should be able to have some say in the medical treatment, however; if the doctors have tried everything they could do, the hospital should have final decisions whether or not the patient dies or treatment
Consent is an issue of concern for all healthcare professional when coming in contact with patients either in a care environment or at their home. Consent must be given voluntary or freely, informed and the individual has the capacity to give or make decisions without fear or fraud (Mental Capacity Act, 2005 cited in NHS choice, 2010). The Mental Capacity Act perceives every adult competent unless proven otherwise as in the case of Freeman V Home Office, a prisoner who was injected by a doctor without consent because of behavioural disorder (Dimond, 2011). Consent serves as an agreement between the nurse and the patient, and allows any examination or treatment to be administered. Nevertheless, consent must be obtained in every occurrence of care as in the case of Mohr V William 1905 (Griffith and Tengrah, 2011), where a surgeon obtain consent to perform a procedure on a patient right ear. The surgeon found defect in the left ear of the patient and repaired it assuming he had obtained consent for both ear. The patient sued him and the court found the surgeon guilty of trespassing. Although there is no legal requirement that states how consent should be given, however, there are various ways a person in care of a nurse may give consent. This could be formal (written) form of consent or implied (oral or gesture) consent. An implied consent may be sufficient for taking observation or examination of patient, while written is more suitable for invasive procedure such as surgical operation (Dimond, 2011).
Introduction: Mary Roach introduces herself ass a person who has her own perspective of death about cadavers. She explains the benefits of cadavers and why they could be used for scientific improvements. She acknowledges the negative perspectives of this ideology.
2. Kirsch, Laura. “Diagnosis: DEATH.” Forensic Examiner 15.2 (2006): 52-54. Criminal Justice Periodicals. ProQuest. USF Mears Library, Sioux Falls, SD. 24 Apr. 2008 http://www.proquest.com/
When a suspicious body appears in the morgue, the forensics team goes to work. The body, if still covered in tissue goes to the forensic pathologist who will study the tissue extensively. If a conclusion is unable to be reached through this process, the pathologist will remove the tissue from the bone and send the skeleton to the forensic anthropologist. In other cases, the victim is found with no to little tissue on the bone, making it nearly impossible for a layman to discover any identifying characteristics about the person. The forensic anthropologist’s first job is to determine the sex, age and race of the victim (Sauer, 1998).
President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Defining Death: A Report on the Medical, Legal and Ethical Issues in the Determination of Death. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981.
How we came to know what we know now about anatomy and physiology has always been a great curiosity of anyone interested in the medical field. Knowing the history can lead to even more discoveries in the future. When you think of anatomy you imagine something like this picture below.