Autopsies

[JakeSchuster aka Ostroff]

What is the room called in which autopsies take place? And does the coroner himself do them or is there a medical officer attached to every coroner's office?

Thanks in advance, one and all.

[captain bligh]

jake,

there's a pretty cool book called cause of death: a writer's guide to death, murder & forensic medicine (written by keith d. wilson, m.d.), that would probably do you good in the long run.

here are some quotes from that book that answer your questions directly:

What is the room called in which autopsies take place?

in the book it doesn't specify (it's simply called "the autopsy room,") but it does list some cool stuff you might want to incorporate:

1) mobile cart for transporting the body to the morgue
2) autopsy table with holes to allow water and fluids to drain
3) small parts dissection table
4) scale to weigh the organs
5) tank for delivering water to the table and collecting fluids.

And does the coroner himself do them or is there a medical officer attached to every coroner's office?

"The coroner is an elected public official whose duty is to oversee the mechanics of obtaining medical-legal investigation of death. In some states, anyone may run for the office and be elected coroner -- even without any formal education of forensic medicine. In some areas of the country, in fact, a coroner can be a funeral director.

"A coroner with no formal education in forensic medicine will appoint a forensic pathologist who then functions as medical examiner, the ME will examine a case and give the findings to the elected coroner, who will then render the coroner's report.

"An elected coroner may appoint a deputy coroner to assist in the medical-legal investigation and to perfrom autopsies. The deputy coroner is almost always a qualified forensic pathologist, the same as a medical examiner."

i think iembalm might be able to give you more thorough information.

[JakeSchuster aka Ostroff]

Cap, you're the best. Thank you, and I promise not to stage a mutiny this week.

[BeefMissile]

Try The Advice Squad, www.copsnwriters.com and www.crimewriters.com for good research sources.

8)

[JakeSchuster aka Ostroff]

Thanks, Missile.

[brough]

I stumbled over a web page written by a medic specifically for screenwriters a few months ago... Lost it but amazingly Google "+diener +screenwriters" kicked it up (first hit!). It's long, I'll post it in a separate topic.

[JakeSchuster aka Ostroff]

Thanks, Brough. I'll check it out.

[pantalone]

First, I want to second what bligh said, about the writer's digest books. They are a great resource. No matter how debatable a particular subject may be, they are easily good enough for a screenplay.

Second, I wanna say that when I worked in a hospital, which is not the same as a CSI locale, we always called a room where something happened to a body, living or dead, a theater.