Autopsy 1761 – Attributing Diseases to Organic Rather Than Spiritual Causes

Napoleon Bonaparte told his doctor, "I wish you to perform an autopsy after my death," and added, "Prepare a detailed report for my son. Tell him what remedies or lifestyle he could follow to prevent suffering. This is very important, because my father died with symptoms like mine." Napoleon was experiencing vomiting and fever, and his autopsy revealed stomach cancer.

An autopsy is a medical practice involving the careful examination of a corpse, usually to determine the cause of death. One of the earliest and most famous laws permitting human dissection in Europe was approved in 1240 by Frederick II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. An Italian anatomist, Giovanni Morgagni, known for his autopsies associating symptoms with organic changes, published in 1761 the work "De Sedibus Et Causis Morborum Per Anatomen Indagatis" (On the Seats and Causes of Diseases Investigated by Anatomy), which contained hundreds of reports describing coronary artery disease, pneumonia, and various other diseases. The Bohemian physician Carl von Rokitansky performed thousands of autopsies using a precise protocol and made autopsy a separate branch of medicine. The German pathologist Rudolf Virchow emphasized the importance of the microscope for examining autopsy tissues.

Today, a doctor makes a large incision along the front of the body, and most organs can initially be removed together as a large mass. The major blood vessels are opened and examined. The contents of the stomach and intestines can sometimes indicate the time of death. A Stryker electric saw is used to open the skull and expose the brain. Special techniques involving electron microscopy, radiology, and toxicology (to check for poisons) may be used.

Although autopsies have frequently revealed diagnostic errors and unexpected findings about the cause of death since the 1960s, the number of autopsies performed in Western countries has been declining considerably, perhaps partly because doctors fear malpractice lawsuits. The frequency of autopsies varies by nationality and religion. Judaism and Islam generally do not encourage the widespread use of autopsies.

Description of the article's illustration: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632), oil on canvas, by the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669). Nicolaes Tulp (1593-1674) was a Dutch surgeon and mayor of Amsterdam.

Historical Figures Mentioned in the Article: Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194–1250), Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682–1771), Carl von Rokitansky (1804–1878), Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow (1821–1902)

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