APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. a procedure in which the body of a dead person is examined in an effort to determine the exact cause and time of death. For legal, religious, and cultural reasons, an autopsy generally cannot be performed without permission of the next of kin or an order of the public authorities. The procedure usually requires a detailed dissection of body tissues, laboratory tests, and other techniques when the death occurs under suspicious circumstances. Also called postmortem examination. See also psychological autopsy.