1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:09,559 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works brain Stuff, 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:12,959 Speaker 1: It's Christian Sager, and I have a deeply concerning question 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: for you today. What happens when I die? And I 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 1: don't mean like will I go to heaven? Or who 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: gets all of my comic books? No, I want to 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: know what someone's going to do with my dead body 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: when it's on a slab of cold steel. How does 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: an autopsy work? Well? First of all, a word of 9 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: warning for our listeners. If you're squeamish, you might want 10 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: to listen to I don't Know a less gross episode 11 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,520 Speaker 1: of brain Stuff, like wise bird Poop White or how 12 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: do bedbugs work? Okay, are you ready? Now? Let's start 13 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 1: by clarifying that an autopsy is a medical examination of 14 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: a dead body to determine the cause of death, and 15 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: there's two types, forensic and clinical. Clinical ones are performed 16 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: for research, medical training, or at the request of the 17 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: deceased family, and forensic autopsies are the ones you're used 18 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: to seeing on TV, like when Agent Scully carves into 19 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: a corpse because the truth is in there. This is 20 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: often for legal reasons, potentially as evidence in criminal or 21 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: civil court cases. While the general procedure is similar. For 22 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: our purposes, let's stick to forensic autopsies. All legally investigated 23 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: deaths fall into five categories natural accident, homicide, suicide, and undetermined. Yeah, 24 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: that last one may seem a little wishy washy, but 25 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: sometimes the answers aren't that clear for the attending medical 26 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: examiner or coroner, and this is an important distinction. Forensic 27 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: pathologists are physicians trained to perform autopsies. Here in the 28 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: United States, most local governments mandate that an appointed pathologist 29 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: called a medical examiner, perform an autopsy, but not all. 30 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: In some counties they use corners instead of medical examiners, 31 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 1: and a corner doesn't necessary really have to have medical training. Instead, 32 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: they're elected to their position, and they can be anyone. 33 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: They could be farmers, snake handlers, even podcast hosts, I guess. 34 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: But if a non medical corner ever needs assistance, the 35 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: state usually provides them with a medical examiner. When that 36 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 1: examiner finally gets ahold of your cold body, here's what 37 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: they're gonna do to it. First, they gather information on you, 38 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: your death, and your medical records. Then they record an 39 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: external exam of your appearance. They start by photographing you 40 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: inside a body bag, noting your clothing and its position. 41 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: Before stripping you naked, they try to establish your identity, 42 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: noting ethnicity, gender, age, and hair and eye color. Then 43 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: they collect samples of hair, fingernails, and any foreign objects 44 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: found on your surface. Sometimes they use UV radiation or 45 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: X rays to find further evidence. Once the external exam 46 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: is done, they clean your body, weigh it, and measure 47 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: it On the table. They place a rubber body block 48 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: under your back to make your chest protrude forward so 49 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: the arms and neck fall back. This makes it easier 50 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: for the cutting. For a complete internal exam, they start 51 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: with the chest, making a Y shaped incision. Following this, 52 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: they peel back your skin, muscle and soft tissue with 53 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 1: a scalpel, pull the chest flap over your face and 54 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: expose your rib cage and neck muscles. Your rib cage 55 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: is then removed, followed by your larynx, esophagus, arteries, and ligaments. 56 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: By severing a few attachments to your spinal cord, bladder, 57 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: and rectum, the examiner can remove the rest of your 58 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: organs as an entire set. Your organs are each examined 59 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: and weighed with sample slices taken of their tissue if necessary. 60 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: These organs are stored in formulin. The examiner will also 61 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: take your urine, blood, bile, and the vitreous gel from 62 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: your eyes for further testing. Depending on how you died, 63 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: They probably won't cut open your arms, hands, legs, or 64 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: your face, but don't think your head is off the 65 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: hook just yet. If they need a peek inside your noggin, 66 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: the examiner will move the rubber block under your neck 67 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: like a pillow. Then they will make a cut from 68 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: behind one ear, across your forehead, over to the other ear, 69 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: and around the back. Once this is divided, they can 70 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,359 Speaker 1: remove your scalp from your skull in two flaps, folding 71 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: one over your face and the other over the back 72 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: of your neck. Then outcomes the electric saw to pop 73 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: the top of your skull off like a cap and 74 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 1: expose your brain. This is severed from your spinal cord 75 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: and tentorum and then lifted out Frankenstein style. Just like 76 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,159 Speaker 1: your other organs, it's weighed and examined. Well, what happens 77 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: to all of these organs sitting outside of your body anyways, Well, 78 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: depending on the style of funeral, they're either put back 79 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: in or they're incinerated either way, the butterfly chest flaps 80 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: are closed, the spell cap is placed back on your head, 81 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: and everything is sewn up nice and tidy with a 82 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: baseball stitch. Though, even after your body goes off to 83 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: the funeral home, a pathologists work is never done. It 84 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: takes days to get tissue and blood samples tested, and 85 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: at least two weeks for brain samples. Then it takes 86 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: hours more to write up a detailed report for the 87 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: official record. Now keep in mind that this is a 88 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: brief overview of the autopsy process. We didn't even get 89 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: into examining wounds, determining the time of death, or what 90 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,119 Speaker 1: tools of the trade are used to crack you open. 91 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 1: Check out the brain stuff channel on YouTube, and for 92 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics, visit how 93 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com.