Evaluation of postmortem artifacts in forensic autopsies

Conceptually, autopsy is the examination of a dead body for research purposes. The word autopsy means "seeing with one's own eyes" in Turkish and is a procedure that requires expertise and experience. In our country, autopsies are frequently performed for forensic purposes and are carried out in accordance with the instructions of the responsible legal authority in order to shed light on sudden, suspicious, uncertain or unnatural deaths. Although autopsy is described in the law in its simplest form as the opening of the head, chest and abdomen, it is not such a simple procedure in practice. It is the process of examining body organs in detail at macroscopic and microscopic levels and interpreting the findings obtained after these examinations. Artifact, as a dictionary definition, means "anything artificially produced or altered by human art." Forensic medical artifacts, defined as postmortem artifacts, are defined as any findings and changes that occur in the corpse during the agony phase or after death, that cause misinterpretations during the postmortem examination and autopsy, and that are not related to the natural structure of the tissue or the disease present in the corpse before death. Forensic medical artifacts (postmortem artifacts) can mislead the autopsy team, cause unnecessary loss of time during the autopsy, and lead to incorrect decisions about the cause and origin of death, leading to deficiencies in the provision of justice. Therefore, identifying artifacts is of great importance for the proper and smooth conduct of justice in forensic deaths. In our study, 309 postmortem examinations and autopsies performed in Elazığ between 01.06.2024 and 01.06.2025 were evaluated prospectively. The data obtained were evaluated by examining the cases in terms of gender, age, height, weight, cause of autopsy, time between death and autopsy, location of the body, whether resuscitation was performed, and the criteria specified in the guide prepared before the study. Autopsy was performed in 216 (70%) of the cases. 227 (73%) of the cases were male, the most common reason for admission was suspicious deaths with 116 cases (37.5%). 184 of the cases died in the hospital. Autopsies were performed between 0 and 9 hours for 75% of the cases. CPR was performed in 194 (62.8%) of the cases. Injection puncture marks were found in 197 cases, and rib fractures were found in 66 (52%). Gastric contents were observed in the oropharynx-trachea in 36 cases. Postmortem artifacts are frequently encountered in autopsy practice. Artifacts related to medical procedures, in particular, are becoming increasingly significant. Forensic medicine specialists must accurately identify these artifacts and manage the case accordingly. Keywords: Forensic autopsies, postmortem artifacts