Autopsy frameworks worldwide:
History and the present status

The system of death investigation and identification?fields of practices of legal medicine?has undergone various changes historically. There are two major sources of death investigation systems worldwide: One is the European Continent, where forensic medicine was established the earliest, and the other is United Kingdom, where a coroner system was invented. Currently, each country has own its independent system, most of which have been adopted from the original systems used historically. However, the autopsy system in our country, which comprises part of both original systems, is very poor and full of contradictions.

While researching the American medical examiner system that has been developed from the coroner system, I studied the history of death investigation systems worldwide, as well as the present systems prevalent in North European countries and Australia, which are judged as the most advanced.

On the basis of such comparisons, I would like to attempt to reform the system of death investigation and identification in our country.

Kenji Ishihara