ABSTRACT
In most jurisdictions, deaths that occur during or within a short time after surgical operation, invasive diagnostic procedure or an anaesthetic, become the subject of a medico-legal investigation. Similarly, any death thought to be caused or contributed to, by any of these procedures – irrespective of the interval – may be enquired into if the medical attendants or the relatives consider that a causal relationship exists. To be effective such investigations must include an autopsy, and the pathologist involved in these has a difficult and often professionally sensitive task (Figs 23.6, 23.11).
