At the 10th Anniversary of Judicial Autopsy : with a Focus on Recent Examinations of Malpractice Cases

It has been 10 years since Judicial Autopsy commenced at Tokyo Women\u27s Medical University. On this occasion, I would like to define the thrust of a judicial autopsy, with special reference to cases of malpractice that may reflect the current social situations, together with the physician\u27s responsibility in conducting a postmortem inspection and reporting on cases of unnatural death. I would also like to introduce part of "A Study on the Borderline Area of Death" conducted in our department. A judicial autopsy is performed legally in pursuance of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It dose not require consent by the deceased\u27s family and it may be contrary to the wishes of the deccased had he had a chance to express his choice. Therefore, it is very important to have a socalled "informed consent of the deceased", through which the operating surgeon judiciously conducts the procedure so that he may be able to hear the silent appeal of the said deceased and learn through the procedure