The ONLY way to know for certain why someone died and what caused their death is to have a qualified Pathologist perform an autopsy. Just because someone that has had heart problems for 30 years and dies you can't or shouldn't assume that he died of a heart problem. He or she could have been poisoned. Embalming can destroy or conceal many different causes of death and should be done after the autopsy.
Nope. First wife suffered from ALS for 2 years before her death. Second wife was treated for lung cancer for almost 3 years before her death. No autopsy was requested nor would I have given permission. Both were cremated,
I've thought about this a lot. It would be nice in many cases, but not practical in general I suppose. For example, last time I checked, the only way you can definitively diagnose Parkinson's Disease is with an autopsy. There are several other conditions that mimic the symptoms of PD. Perhaps years spent on medication for PD, when that is not the disease, may be harmful. PD may not be as prevalent as they think. It would be nice to know.
I don't think the person laying around cares ,having said that sometimes its necessary for family closure.
3 percent. The most famous were of babies who died of sids. Sudden infant death/ crib death. Or perhaps infamous is the word. People do not like the results of actual autopsies most of the time, when they are done to find out how or why someone dies. People reject the findings, when they do not like them. It seems usually the 'side' that gets the most money likes it , no matter what the real cause of death, when it is in their favor, even if it is a lie.
I don't know if I'm surprised or not that the number is that low. I guess that doing a significant portion would require lots of resources. But when my mother died at home from complications of dementia (she actually injured herself and then declined), we were told that the only reason there was no autopsy was because she had been under a nurse's care to some degree. There's a lesson there for those of ill intent, huh? Regarding death and money...I guess you could say "regarding anything and money." Life is full of self-declared lottery winners who never bought a ticket. Damned cormorants...
I don't know the context/ history/ meaning here. Those of ill intent include those , all those, who put money and power and prestige and position and approval of others in their ilk ahead of truth and instead of well being of others. Even those who remain quiet, or who work for those of ill intent without realizing it, share the quilt.
I was saying that an autopsy is generally to rule out foul play, so anything that may diminish an autopsy being done lowers the bar for those who may be inclined to do harm. And I agree--as I've said before--that a lack of universality is gonna take us all down.