ABSTRACT
The post-mortem room poses several potential threats to the health and safety of those working there. All staff who work in the post-mortem room have a duty to familiarise themselves with and to undertake safe working practices and to follow the department’s standard operating procedures relating to health and safety. Within the post-mortem room, hazards are presented by the body, by the equipment used to perform the autopsy and reconstruct the body, and by the room itself. The hazards posed by infectious agents can be stratified into groups depending on the likelihood of acquisition, the severity of the disease caused by the pathogen, the availability and efficacy of treatment, and the risk of transmission from the healthcare or mortuary worker to the general public. The clinical history should include details of the therapy that was administered and the local hospital’s medical physics department should be contacted for advice before starting the autopsy.
