Honors Forensics - Internal Examination of the Body Autopsy

Internal Examination includes what areas of the body?

Head

Neck

Cervical spine

Thorax
Abdomen

Genitalia

Internal examination generally proceeds as: (order)

1. The head

2. The chest

3. The abdomen

4. The pelvic cavity

Internal Examination

1.

The head

1. exterior of scalp

2. eyes

3. Ear canals

4. Interior of mouth, lips, and cheeks

5. Teeth

6. coronal mastoid incision → interior of scalp and cranium

7. brain removed

8. brain weighed

9. slice of brain

10. Dura and interior of skull

Internal Examination

2.

The Chest

1. Incision across chest (Y/primary incision)

2. fracture of ribs

3. Breast plate removed

4. blood taken from heart

5. heart/lungs removed, weighed, examined, and sliced

6. quantity of fluids measured

7. chest flap pulled up

8. asphyxia

9. tongue

10. interior of chest (cervical and thoracic spine)

Internal Examination

3.

The Abdomen

1. abdomen examined

2. course of injuries

3. fluids measured/recorded

4. Each organ weighed and dissected

5. Stomach contents measured/recorded

6. Fluid in gallbladder