BMJ 1998;317:1450 ( 21 November )

Letters

Magnetic resonance imaging may be alternative to necropsy

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITORCertification of the cause of death is a valuable source of information about illness in the community. When a death is unexplained the case is referred to the coroner in England and Wales and the procurator fiscal in Scotland. Although Scottish law does not demand explanation of a non-suspicious death, in England a cause of death (or mode of death under certain circumstances) must be determined, which often requires a necropsy.

Necropsy is not allowed by many religions, particularly Islam and Judaism, unless demanded by law. Over the past 18 months we have used magnetic resonance imaging to examine 15 patients whose deaths were unexplained. The patients were from areas in the North West region covered by five coroners. Examination of the brain, thorax, and upper abdomen showed that 10 of the patients had disease that was so severe that, had the patients been alive, they would have been at risk . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

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Islam and Autopsy

Mouied Alashari
bmj.com, 23 Nov 1998 [Full text]

Magnetic Resonance Imaging may be alternative to necropsy

Jas Brookes
bmj.com, 3 Dec 1998 [Full text]

Magnetic resonance imaging may be alternative to necropsy

Laszlo Szabo
bmj.com, 13 Jan 1999 [Full text]

Re: Islam and Autopsy

Sohail Ahmed Dar, et al.
bmj.com, 18 Mar 2006 [Full text]