ABSTRACT
Most natural deaths seen in a medical examiner’s office are sudden and unexpected. The definition as to what constitutes sudden death is variable. It is based on the amount of time between the onset of symptoms and death. Depending on one’s definition, the maximum time interval varies anywhere from 1-24 h. Most witnessed deaths handled by the medical examiner are what are called instantaneous deaths. Literally, the individual falls down dead. In such cases, everyone agrees that these are sudden deaths. In other cases, the individuals usually die within 1 h of the onset of symptoms.
