**1. Introduction**

The history of postmortem examination, commonly known as an autopsy, dates back to ancient Egyptian days, where there was considerable interest in the relationship of wounds and fractures to anatomy, but little interest in the nontraumatic diseases. It was not until the 20th century when leaders of medicine in North America, including Sir William Osler (1849–1919), emphasized the importance of the autopsy in medical education. The objectives of an autopsy would include the establishment of final diagnoses and of the causes of death, and the unique opportunity for physicians to correlate their clinical observations with pathologic changes of disease. The autopsy establishes a standard for evaluating the accuracy of pre-mortem diagnoses and outcome of therapy. It provides critical data for quality assurance and makes room for quality improvement. It also provides the surviving family the basis for genetic counseling for hereditary diseases, thereby directing preventative care for living family members, which is particularly true in cases of sudden death. Family members can be comforted by obtaining information on the causes of death of their loved ones, obtaining answers to questions surrounding terminal events, and irrational guilt can be alleviated [1–5].
