autopsy
pronunciation
How to pronounce autopsy in British English:
UK [ˈɔ:tɒpsi]
How to pronounce autopsy in American English:
US [ˈɔtɑpsi]
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- Noun:
- an examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death or the changes produced by disease
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- Verb:
- perform an autopsy on a dead body; do a post-mortem
Word Origin
- autopsy (n.)
- 1650s, "an eye-witnessing," from Modern Latin autopsia, from Greek autopsia "a seeing with one's own eyes," from autos- "self" (see auto-) + opsis "a sight" (see eye (n.)). Sense of "dissection of a body to determine cause of death" is first recorded 1670s, probably from the same sense in French autopsie (1570s).
Example
- 1. To make the process easier , dr persson and his colleagues have also created a virtual autopsy table .
- 2. When a radiologist is confident in the diagnosis from a scan , a traditional autopsy might be unnecessary .
- 3. Wallets made from his skin , which was stolen during the autopsy , were offered for sale on the street .
- 4. Until now , the only definitive way to diagnose alzheimer 's has been to search for plaque with a brain autopsy after the patient dies .
- 5. An autopsy failed to determine a cause of death , yet his widow saw facial injuries when she identified the body .