A Methodological Approach to the External Examination

Pathologists must perform a careful external examination of the cadaver prior to the actual autopsy, as the external findings may sometimes be more important than anything revealed by the internal examination. Clothing examination is also very important in sex-related deaths. External examination of the chest should be performed from the left to the right side, over all the ribs and intercostal spaces. External examination of the upper extremities should be performed from the shoulders downward to the hands, and any injuries of the dorsal and ventral sides should be noted. As with the upper extremities, an examination of the lower extremities is performed from the left to the right side, downward and backward. An anal examination is often misleading because of the postmortem flaccidity of the sphincter. If a urine sample from the bladder has not been collected at the time of external examination, the diaper can be submitted for laboratory analysis as well as toxicological and metabolic screening