Autopsy: A Tool for Diagnosis and for Education

“Autopsy remains the touchstone of diagnosis,” according to Henry Schneiderman, MD, of the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington (Schneiderman H, Gruhn J. J Postgrad Med. 1985; 77:153-6). But autopsy rates have declined precipitously in recent decades-from a peak of 41% in 1964 to less than 5% today (Hasson J, Schneiderman H. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1995; 119:289-91). Schneiderman and colleague Jack Hasson, MD, label this situation a “disaster” because autopsy is an invaluable and irreplaceable tool not only for clinical medicine and epidemiology but also for medical education.

“Autopsies enable all physicians, both trainees and those who are more senior, to check the accuracy …