Background. Necropsy (
autopsy) has helped medical
science and
law. It has given rise to numerous diagnostic surprises as it explains
cause of death; pathogenesis of
diseases; and circumstances of
death. It also explains reasons for most
therapeutic failures. In spite of its usefulness; the rate has dropped worldwide and
Africa is worse hit. This
work aims to highlight the
role autopsy (Necropsy)
plays in demystifying diagnostic dilemmas and to encourage its patronage by medical practitioners;
law enforcement agents and society.
Methods. This is a retrospective
review of
autopsy and clinical
reports of cases seen by
pathologists and
physicians in the Jos
University Teaching Hospital (JUTH); Jos; North central
Nigeria. Results. A total 166 cases were studied out of which 52 had same
diagnosis for both attending
physician and
pathologist; 106 had different
diagnoses and in eight cases
diagnoses remained unknown even after
autopsy was performed. Conclusions.
Autopsy remains an important tool for obtaining definitive
diagnosis; determining
cause of death to explain pathogenesis of
diseases; medical auditing and a vital source of data for
health statistics and
planning