The differences between postmortem and antemortem injuries

Abstract or Introduction

Autopsy is a valuable procedure performed by a qualified physician to assess the quality of patient care to evaluate clinical diagnostic accuracy. In addition, autopsy determines the effectiveness and impact of therapeutic regimens in discovering and defining new or changing diseases to increase the understanding of biological processes of disease. It also helps in augmenting clinical and basic research, to provide accurate public health and education as it relates to disease and medico - legal factual information. The benefits of forensic autopsy in criminology are undisputed; it allows the pathologist to see, and describe findings that were previously demonstrated and confirmed through the use of histology for confirmation.

In practice, there is abundant evidence that clinical diagnosis still have room for improvement and that autopsy has much to contribute to the improvement of patient care. However, forensic pathology requires extensive understanding on postmortem and antemortem differences for accurate reporting of postmortem examinations. Therefore, this paper will provide comparisons between antemortem and postmortem injuries. It will also attempt to demystify the criticism surrounding autopsy (postmortem) by evaluating the drawbacks associated to all the methods applied in the assessment of bruises.