autopsy
n. countablen. a medical exam of a dead body to find out why the person died. Doctors do this to learn about diseases or to help the police solve a crime.
n. a post-mortem surgical examination of a corpse to determine the cause of death or to evaluate the extent of disease. Often used in forensic or clinical contexts.
The doctor performed an autopsy to find the cause of death.
The medical examiner scheduled an autopsy for Monday morning to confirm if the victim died of natural causes.
While the preliminary report suggested heart failure, the full autopsy revealed a rare underlying condition that had gone undetected during the patient's lifetime.
From New Latin autopsia, from Ancient Greek αὐτοψῐ́ᾱ (autopsĭ́ā, “seeing with one's own eyes”). By surface analysis, auto- + -opsy.
Commonly used with the verbs 'perform', 'conduct', or 'carry out'.