I'm a forensic pathologist - AMA

[slightlybrownbanana]

I do autopsies every week on a range of different type of deaths, not just homicides. People are often fascinated when I tell them what I do and it is very interesting but not like on the telly.

Is it true that you have to pierce the stomach to release gas? Also, when you die do your bladder/bowels always open?

Fascinating thread. Thanks, banana

I genuinely don't want to inquire into your personal financials or those of your family, presumably supporting you through your education, but what means of financial support or sponsorship are available for someone wanting to undertake this many years of study?

If you get called to a murder scene what is the reason for you attending the scene?

We don't get called to many scenes, it's usually to take sexual swabs or if it will be complicated to move the body and that would impact on our findings. Occasionally I have been to a scene which resulted in me suggesting that the case was downgraded to a non suspicious death. The forensic scientists are the most important people at a crime scene to be honest.

Is it true that you have to pierce the stomach to release gas?

Not always, but we open the stomach in every case regardless to examine the contents and lining.

when you die do your bladder/bowels always open?

No, not always but it does happen fairly commonly in my experience.

what means of financial support or sponsorship are available for someone wanting to undertake this many years of study?

When I went to medical school the tuition fees were minimal compared to today but I did still come out of 5 years at university with a fair amount of debt. After that as a junior doctor you are paid as you work and study. Exams are expensive but you just have to suck it up and get on with it in order to progress in your career.

Can a person or family refuse to have an autopsy done on them for whatever reason? Or does the law always override any requests.

Has anyone ever tried to stop you from performing one?

You mention Fiscal, are you in scotland? I only ask because I waatched Shetland recently and they kept mentioning it

Have u ever seen orbs?

I hope this doesn't upset anyone else reading this. This is a question I have wanted to ask for almost 35 years. When a newborn has a postmortem and "the celiac block" is removed, what is it that is taken out? I have been given 2 totally different answers and I still feel I need to know the real answer. If I know, hopefully I can stop torturing myself. The real answer is all I need; it can't be worse than I imagine. Thank you so much for being so kind to others who have asked questions. I have a huge amount of respect. Thank you

Do people poo themselves after dying? Like just the muscle relax and things just leak out? Sorry a bit 🤢 I'm just a nosy so and so. Thank you.

Apologies- you've answered that one already

Can a person or family refuse to have an autopsy done on them for whatever reason?

If they could it'd be an open door to be able to get away with murder.

Can a person or family refuse to have an autopsy done on them for whatever reason? Or does the law always override any requests

If a post mortem examination is ordered by a Coroner or Procurator Fiscal then the family have no right to object to this because, as pointed out down the thread, a family member could have nefarious reasons for their objection.

Have u ever seen orbs?

No, I don't know what that is - please enlighten me...

^^ I meant for religious or other reasons...but yes murder would be easy lol I like the tow injection idea hmmm jk

I don't understand how an injection of insulin would be a silent death? Surely it would show up in toxicology or bloods? Also do you look very carefully for tiny puncture wounds in unexplained deaths?

I meant for religious or other reasons..

A colleague of mine was Muslim and her father died in an accident and they were distraught at the thought of a PM as apparently not liked in their religion as it is disrepectful to the body or something like that. The coroner/pathologist? told them that there is the option for an MRI type PM in some cities but as the death was due to a RTA a forensic PM had to be carried out and they had no choice.

Orbs OP, are a 'phenomenon' that the supernaturalists believe are spirits 'from the other side'

If you ever see any kind of supernatural investigation 'show', tiny dots of lights spotted on film (in the dark) are presented as 'evidence' of spiritual activity.

Orbs...I think I remember there was an AMA about a mortician/funeral director seeing orbs at her place of work........maybe other mners remember that thread...very interesting like this one. Death is as much a part of life and it is now swept under the carpet. Someone was talking about this on a show, i think and they said it is because of advinces in medicine. We no longer have siblings who die in infancy thus we do not get used to death at an early age. People mostly live longer and do not die young so the topic of death is no longer discussed so openly as it used to be back in the day.

When a newborn has a postmortem and "the celiac block" is removed, what is it that is taken out?

To be honest I have never heard the term "celiac block" used and I checked with a colleague who is a paediatric pathologist and she hasn't either. Our best guess is that it is an archaic term for the abdominal block which refers to the technique of removing the abdominal organs in order to dissect them and is a standard part of a paediatric post mortem examination. I hope that helps.

I don't understand how an injection of insulin would be a silent death? Surely it would show up in toxicology or bloods? Also do you look very carefully for tiny puncture wounds in unexplained deaths?

We don't test routinely for insulin on toxicology screening so it wouldn't be picked up in blood unless specifically requested. Insulin needles are very fine indeed and leave hardly a trace of a needle puncture mark on the skin. We do very thorough external examinations of bodies but not every injury can be detected.

A colleague of mine was Muslim and her father died in an accident and they were distraught at the thought of a PM as apparently not liked in their religion as it is disrepectful to the body or something like that. The coroner/pathologist? told them that there is the option for an MRI type PM in some cities but as the death was due to a RTA a forensic PM had to be carried out and they had no choice.

Non invasive PM (using CT scanning) is a hot topic in pathology currently with various centres in the UK exploring its possibilities, mainly due to pressure from certain religious groups who object to traditional invasive PMs. It requires much research and training of radiologists (doctors who look at x-rays and other scans) as a CT scan of a dead person is not the same as the scan of a living person. Even early changes of decomposition (such as bacterial production of gas) can obscure the images making interpretation problematic. Also an infrastructure has to be set up with either a scanner to be used solely for the dead or out of hours when not needed for living patients. Personally I see a future of increased usage of CT scanning in conjunction with traditional PM. In some cases a CT scan alone may be appropriate but in other cases not at all.

Orbs OP, are a 'phenomenon' that the supernaturalists believe are spirits 'from the other side'

Call me cynical but that sounds pretty mad to me.